Exploitative domestic labour provided by a hapless army of the economically and socially marginalised has been fundamental to the making of the Indian way of life. A great deal has been written about “labour market dynamism” as a result of economic liberalisation. As far as women are concerned, the most dynamic sector is that of domestic labour. And this fiction of kinship functioned easily enough in the feudal-modernity of the older middle classes. In larger cities, resident welfare associations started installing gates at the entrance of their localities, making gated enclaves out of formerly open spaces.

Source: Dhaka Tribune July 17, 2017 12:22 UTC