The Lace Makers of Narsapur

By: Maria Mies

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Synopsis: A sensitive and groundbreaking study of women, this examination of globalization in India provides a fascinating case study of its effects on female workers in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Originally published in 1982, the book is an important insight into a group dispossessed before the recent economic boom in India. It details the way in which women have been used to produce luxury goods for the Western market while they are not counted as workers or producers in their fragmented workplaces. Instead, these women are defined as nonworking housewives and their work as leisure activity. With rates of pay far below acceptable levels, pauperization is accelerated and their position in Indian society rapidly deteriorates. An invaluable analysis with implications on the global stage, the case of the lace makers continues to instruct on the real impact of industrial development.