A theory, anchored in a socialist feminist perspective, is presented about the state and the education of women. Propositions of the theory are compared with data from a study of 31 international development agencies about the behavior of the state regarding the education of women. The study focused on basic education, defined as the first 4 or 5 years of regular primary education or the various forms of nonformal education addressed to adult women. The agencies comprised 17 multilateral, 7 bilateral (representing Canada, England, France, Italy, Sweden, the United States, and West Germany), and 7 foundations and semigovernment agencies. Data on the work of nongovernment agencies and women's groups were also included in the study. The empirical data support the position that the state will tend to make a rhetorical use of education as a means of improving the conditions of women but that it will neglect the design of effective and comprehensive programs to address womens' needs for an improved social order. The data also show that state agencies tend to address only those areas of knowledge that they consider essential to the family. Political action should be directed toward the state so that it provides funds for projects, but the form and content shaping the new projects will have to come from the women themselves. Appended are 6 notes and 28 references. (MLF)