Crafts, entrepreneurship and gendered economic relations in southern Xinjiang in the era of 'socialist commodity economy'

Central Asian Survey

Volumn 17, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 701-718

  Bellér Hann, Ildikó ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF KENT   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ECONOMIC REFORM; ECONOMIC RELATIONS; GENDER ROLE; INFORMAL SECTOR; LIBERALIZATION; MARKET SYSTEM; SOCIALISM;

CHINA; XINJIANG PROVINCE;

EID: 0032430745     PISSN: 02634937     EISSN: None     Source Type: Trade Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/02634939808401064     Document Type: Article

References (61)

1. Throughout the text Uyghur words and placenames have been transliterated according to the system used in H. G. Schwarz, An Uyghur-English Dictionary (Center for East Asian Studies, Western Washington University, 1992) the sole exception being the name of the province of Xinjiang where the transliteration generally used in modern English language publications has been followed.
2. Pei Xiaozeng, A Tourist Guidebook to Kuqa (Urumqi: Xinjiang Fine Arts and Printing Press, 1993), p 29.
3. W. Hinton, The Great Reversal. The Privatization of China 1978-1989 (New York: Monthly Rev. Press, 1990). For a general overview of the economic reforms in China see M. Blecher, China, Politics, Economics and Society (London: Frances Pinter; Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1986); P. Nolan, The Political Economy of Collective Farms. An Analysis of China's Post-Mao Rural Reforms (Oxford: Polity Press, 1988). S. Feuchtwang, A. Hussain and T. Pairauk, eds, Transforming China's Economy in the Eighties (Boulder: Westview; London: Zed, 1988). For changes in minority regions see C. Mackerras, China's Minority Cultures: Identities and Integration Since 1912 (New York: St Martins Press, 1995).
4. W. Hinton, The Great Reversal. The Privatization of China 1978-1989 (New York: Monthly Rev. Press, 1990). For a general overview of the economic reforms in China see M. Blecher, China, Politics, Economics and Society (London: Frances Pinter; Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1986); P. Nolan, The Political Economy of Collective Farms. An Analysis of China's Post-Mao Rural Reforms (Oxford: Polity Press, 1988). S. Feuchtwang, A. Hussain and T. Pairauk, eds, Transforming China's Economy in the Eighties (Boulder: Westview; London: Zed, 1988). For changes in minority regions see C. Mackerras, China's Minority Cultures: Identities and Integration Since 1912 (New York: St Martins Press, 1995).
5. W. Hinton, The Great Reversal. The Privatization of China 1978-1989 (New York: Monthly Rev. Press, 1990). For a general overview of the economic reforms in China see M. Blecher, China, Politics, Economics and Society (London: Frances Pinter; Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1986); P. Nolan, The Political Economy of Collective Farms. An Analysis of China's Post-Mao Rural Reforms (Oxford: Polity Press, 1988). S. Feuchtwang, A. Hussain and T. Pairauk, eds, Transforming China's Economy in the Eighties (Boulder: Westview; London: Zed, 1988). For changes in minority regions see C. Mackerras, China's Minority Cultures: Identities and Integration Since 1912 (New York: St Martins Press, 1995).
6. W. Hinton, The Great Reversal. The Privatization of China 1978-1989 (New York: Monthly Rev. Press, 1990). For a general overview of the economic reforms in China see M. Blecher, China, Politics, Economics and Society (London: Frances Pinter; Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1986); P. Nolan, The Political Economy of Collective Farms. An Analysis of China's Post-Mao Rural Reforms (Oxford: Polity Press, 1988). S. Feuchtwang, A. Hussain and T. Pairauk, eds, Transforming China's Economy in the Eighties (Boulder: Westview; London: Zed, 1988). For changes in minority regions see C. Mackerras, China's Minority Cultures: Identities and Integration Since 1912 (New York: St Martins Press, 1995).
7. W. Hinton, The Great Reversal. The Privatization of China 1978-1989 (New York: Monthly Rev. Press, 1990). For a general overview of the economic reforms in China see M. Blecher, China, Politics, Economics and Society (London: Frances Pinter; Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1986); P. Nolan, The Political Economy of Collective Farms. An Analysis of China's Post-Mao Rural Reforms (Oxford: Polity Press, 1988). S. Feuchtwang, A. Hussain and T. Pairauk, eds, Transforming China's Economy in the Eighties (Boulder: Westview; London: Zed, 1988). For changes in minority regions see C. Mackerras, China's Minority Cultures: Identities and Integration Since 1912 (New York: St Martins Press, 1995).
8. For a good summary of the content of these reforms, see the 'Introduction' to E. J. Perry and C. Wang, ed., The Political Economy of Reform in Post-Mao China (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard, The Council on East Asian Studies, 1985), pp 10-21.
9. F. N. Pieke, 'Bureaucracy, friends and money: the growth of capital socialism in China', Comparative Study of Society and History, Vol. 37, 1995, pp 494-518 (p 501).
10. For example, Hoppe assumes a strict division of labour between men and women: while the woman takes care of the household, the kitchen, the children, and now and then works in the vegetable garden, the man takes over the hard physical work in the fields, the works concerning irrigation, and he also works as trader and craftsman. Although Hoppe acknowledges that women too take part in carpet knotting and in business, he primarily identifies Uyghur women as domestic workers who do not participate in production. See Th. Hoppe Die ethnischen Gruppen Xijiangs: Kulturunterschiede und interethnische Beziehungen (Hamburg: Institut für Asienkunde, 1995; Mitteilungen des Instituts für Asienkunde Hamburg Nummer 258), pp 131-132.
11. For a discussion of domestic sidelines in China see E. Croll, Chinese Women Since Mao (London: Zed Books Ltd. [1983] 1986) (1st reprint), pp 30-36; and E. Croll, The New Peasant Economy in China', S. Feuchtwang, A. Hussain and T. Pairault, eds, Transforming China's Economy in the Eighties (Boulder: Westview; London: Zed, 1988, I), pp 77-400.
12. For a discussion of domestic sidelines in China see E. Croll, Chinese Women Since Mao (London: Zed Books Ltd. [1983] 1986) (1st reprint), pp 30-36; and E. Croll, The New Peasant Economy in China', S. Feuchtwang, A. Hussain and T. Pairault, eds, Transforming China's Economy in the Eighties (Boulder: Westview; London: Zed, 1988, I), pp 77-400.
13. For an elaboration of the association of women with the domestic sphere and men with non-domestic activities see for example L. Benería, 'Reproduction, production and the sexual division of labour', Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 3, 1979, pp 203-225.
14. See for example an indigenous essay in which female traders on the Qäsqär market are mentioned; Muhammad Ali Damolla: Bir bazar künning bayani [Discussion of a market day] [Qäsqär cca. 1905-1910] Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library Prov. 207.1.43. A few decades earlier Forsyth found in Yarkand that many grocers and bakers shops were kept by women. T. D. Forsyth, Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 (Calcutta: Foreign Departments Press, 1875), p 89. Forsyth also noted that on market day in Qäcqär 250 stalls selling thread were occupied by women, 150 women were selling cotton and 60 women traded in bits of silk and ornaments. Altogether he estimated that out of a total of 27,520 people circulating in town on a market day one-fourth part was women (ibid, pp 501-502). Grenard also mentions women's active participation in selling and buying, cf. F. Grenard. Le Turkestan et le Tiber. Etude ethnographique et sociologique (J.-L. Dutruil de Rhins: Mission Scientifique dans la Haute Asie 1890-1895. Deuxième partie, Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1898), p 125. Sykes and Sykes note that some 'farmers' wives ... haggled with the men in the bazaar ... transacting business with their veils thrown back!' Sykes, E. and P., Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia (London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1920), p 61.
15. See for example an indigenous essay in which female traders on the Qäsqär market are mentioned; Muhammad Ali Damolla: Bir bazar künning bayani [Discussion of a market day] [Qäsqär cca. 1905-1910] Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library Prov. 207.1.43. A few decades earlier Forsyth found in Yarkand that many grocers and bakers shops were kept by women. T. D. Forsyth, Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 (Calcutta: Foreign Departments Press, 1875), p 89. Forsyth also noted that on market day in Qäcqär 250 stalls selling thread were occupied by women, 150 women were selling cotton and 60 women traded in bits of silk and ornaments. Altogether he estimated that out of a total of 27,520 people circulating in town on a market day one-fourth part was women (ibid, pp 501-502). Grenard also mentions women's active participation in selling and buying, cf. F. Grenard. Le Turkestan et le Tiber. Etude ethnographique et sociologique (J.-L. Dutruil de Rhins: Mission Scientifique dans la Haute Asie 1890-1895. Deuxième partie, Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1898), p 125. Sykes and Sykes note that some 'farmers' wives ... haggled with the men in the bazaar ... transacting business with their veils thrown back!' Sykes, E. and P., Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia (London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1920), p 61.
16. See for example an indigenous essay in which female traders on the Qäsqär market are mentioned; Muhammad Ali Damolla: Bir bazar künning bayani [Discussion of a market day] [Qäsqär cca. 1905-1910] Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library Prov. 207.1.43. A few decades earlier Forsyth found in Yarkand that many grocers and bakers shops were kept by women. T. D. Forsyth, Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 (Calcutta: Foreign Departments Press, 1875), p 89. Forsyth also noted that on market day in Qäcqär 250 stalls selling thread were occupied by women, 150 women were selling cotton and 60 women traded in bits of silk and ornaments. Altogether he estimated that out of a total of 27,520 people circulating in town on a market day one-fourth part was women (ibid, pp 501-502). Grenard also mentions women's active participation in selling and buying, cf. F. Grenard. Le Turkestan et le Tiber. Etude ethnographique et sociologique (J.-L. Dutruil de Rhins: Mission Scientifique dans la Haute Asie 1890-1895. Deuxième partie, Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1898), p 125. Sykes and Sykes note that some 'farmers' wives ... haggled with the men in the bazaar ... transacting business with their veils thrown back!' Sykes, E. and P., Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia (London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1920), p 61.
17. See for example an indigenous essay in which female traders on the Qäsqär market are mentioned; Muhammad Ali Damolla: Bir bazar künning bayani [Discussion of a market day] [Qäsqär cca. 1905-1910] Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library Prov. 207.1.43. A few decades earlier Forsyth found in Yarkand that many grocers and bakers shops were kept by women. T. D. Forsyth, Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 (Calcutta: Foreign Departments Press, 1875), p 89. Forsyth also noted that on market day in Qäcqär 250 stalls selling thread were occupied by women, 150 women were selling cotton and 60 women traded in bits of silk and ornaments. Altogether he estimated that out of a total of 27,520 people circulating in town on a market day one-fourth part was women (ibid, pp 501-502). Grenard also mentions women's active participation in selling and buying, cf. F. Grenard. Le Turkestan et le Tiber. Etude ethnographique et sociologique (J.-L. Dutruil de Rhins: Mission Scientifique dans la Haute Asie 1890-1895. Deuxième partie, Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1898), p 125. Sykes and Sykes note that some 'farmers' wives ... haggled with the men in the bazaar ... transacting business with their veils thrown back!' Sykes, E. and P., Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia (London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1920), p 61.
18. See for example an indigenous essay in which female traders on the Qäsqär market are mentioned; Muhammad Ali Damolla: Bir bazar künning bayani [Discussion of a market day] [Qäsqär cca. 1905-1910] Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library Prov. 207.1.43. A few decades earlier Forsyth found in Yarkand that many grocers and bakers shops were kept by women. T. D. Forsyth, Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 (Calcutta: Foreign Departments Press, 1875), p 89. Forsyth also noted that on market day in Qäcqär 250 stalls selling thread were occupied by women, 150 women were selling cotton and 60 women traded in bits of silk and ornaments. Altogether he estimated that out of a total of 27,520 people circulating in town on a market day one-fourth part was women (ibid, pp 501-502). Grenard also mentions women's active participation in selling and buying, cf. F. Grenard. Le Turkestan et le Tiber. Etude ethnographique et sociologique (J.-L. Dutruil de Rhins: Mission Scientifique dans la Haute Asie 1890-1895. Deuxième partie, Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1898), p 125. Sykes and Sykes note that some 'farmers' wives ... haggled with the men in the bazaar ... transacting business with their veils thrown back!' Sykes, E. and P., Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia (London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1920), p 61.
19. For more details see I. Bellér-Hann (forthcoming), 'Work and gender among Uighur villagers in Southern Xinjiang', J.-F. Besson and F. Aubin, eds, Les Ouïghours au XXe siècle. Cahiers d'Etudes sur la Méditerranée Orientale et le Monde Turco-iranien (25, pp 93-110, 1998).
20. Female participation in agriculture has traditionally been determined by financial status and social prestige. In this respect the decades of collectivized agriculture were exceptional in that employment of women in agriculture for the first time became universal (cf. Croll, 1986, op cit, pp 1-19). Croll also notes about the situation in China in general, that where both sexes work in the fields, women's work remains less visible (Croll, Chinese Women, p 97). On the obscurity and underestimation of women's work, see L. Beneria, 'Accounting for Women's Work', L. Beneria, ed., Women and Development. The Sexual Division of Labor in Rural Societies (New York: Praeger, 1982), pp 119-147.
21. Female participation in agriculture has traditionally been determined by financial status and social prestige. In this respect the decades of collectivized agriculture were exceptional in that employment of women in agriculture for the first time became universal (cf. Croll, 1986, op cit, pp 1-19). Croll also notes about the situation in China in general, that where both sexes work in the fields, women's work remains less visible (Croll, Chinese Women, p 97). On the obscurity and underestimation of women's work, see L. Beneria, 'Accounting for Women's Work', L. Beneria, ed., Women and Development. The Sexual Division of Labor in Rural Societies (New York: Praeger, 1982), pp 119-147.
22. Female participation in agriculture has traditionally been determined by financial status and social prestige. In this respect the decades of collectivized agriculture were exceptional in that employment of women in agriculture for the first time became universal (cf. Croll, 1986, op cit, pp 1-19). Croll also notes about the situation in China in general, that where both sexes work in the fields, women's work remains less visible (Croll, Chinese Women, p 97). On the obscurity and underestimation of women's work, see L. Beneria, 'Accounting for Women's Work', L. Beneria, ed., Women and Development. The Sexual Division of Labor in Rural Societies (New York: Praeger, 1982), pp 119-147.
23. This does not apply to the doppa makers employed by the Qäsqär Craft Centre. As regular government employees who work away from home their doppa making is considered work and these women enjoy higher social prestige than ordinary village women in spite of the fact that some have rural residence and also work in agriculture (cf. Bellér-Hann, Work and Gender).
24. This situation closely resembles the position of the lacemakers of Narsapur, see M. Mies, 'The dynamics of the sexual division of labor and integration of women into the world market', in L. Beneria, ed, Women and Development. The Sexual Division of Labour in Rural Societies (New York: Praeger, 1982), pp 1-28.
25. See A. Häbibulla, Uygur Etnografiyisi (Urumçi: Şinjang Xälq Näsriyati, 1993), pp 313-315. Of course, many 'male' crafts can also be learnt informally within the family. Cobblers tend to pass on their knowledge informally, although they have a patron saint. No apprenticing is needed for decorating wedding chests. This job, however, often done by women, is not regarded as suitable for mature men.
26. S. Toops, 'Xinjiang's Handicraft Industry', Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 20, 1993, pp 88-106.
27. That these stages of work really follow age old traditions is confirmed in an indigenous description of hat makers' work dating from the first decade of the 20th century, cf. G. Jarring, Garments from Top to Toe. Eastern Turki texts relating to articles of clothing edited with translation, notes and glossary (Stockholm: Almquist & Wiksell International. Scripta Minora 1991-1992: 2). pp 41-46.
28. These are locally used terms which may not necessarily conform to standard grammar.
29. Similarly, the two successful female entrepreneurs I came across in another neighbourhood were the wives of the present xiaodui zhang (production team leader) and dadui zhang (brigade leader). The two women, who were not related through kinship, received some money as starting capital from their husbands in 1995. They bought up apricots in the village which would normally be marketed at the village bazaar. They dried them in their courtyard and then sold the dried products. In the course of one month they made 5,000 Yuan profit which they divided between themselves equally. This money was then largely used by their husbands to invest in livestock.
30. For an overview of the debate concerning the compatibility of small-scale commodity production and socialist principles see Croll, Chinese Women, p 31.
31. Xotän is famous for its carpet weaving traditions.
32. The employment of cheap labour from the interior of China is becoming more common as the number of impoverished Han Chinese migrants in Xinjiang increases. On Han Chinese migrants in Xinjiang see Hoppe Die ethnischen Gruppen, pp 308-335.
33. For a brief overview of land reform in Xinjiang see Hoppe, Die ethnischen Gruppen, pp 117-118.
34. For a description of the present situation of Uyghur peasants see I. Bellér-Hann, 'The peasant condition in Xinjiang', The Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 24, No. 4, 1997, pp. 87-112.
35. In 1996 the interest required by banks was 180 Yuan for every 1,000 Yuan loaned.
36. One man took out 5,000 Yuan to buy sheep. Another used a mixture of strategies to buy the empty house next door to his own for 10,000 Yuan; 6,000 Yuan was obtained through selling a large number of sheep and 4,000 was borrowed from the bank. The house is now used as a felt-making atelier, although in the future it is envisaged that one of his married sons will move in there with his wife.
37. This attitude has also been found in other peasant societies. For example see F. G. Bailey, 'Capital saving and credit in Highland Orissa (India)', in R. Firth and B. S. Yamey, eds, Capital, Saving and Credit in Peasant Societies (Studies from Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and Middle America. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1964), p 128.
38. Pawnshops used to be an important feature of local life prior to the communist takeover, but they were outlawed by the communist authorities in the 1950s. See J. Millward, Beyond the Pass: Commerce, Ethnicity and the Qing Empire in Xinjiang, 1759-1864 (Stanford: unpublished PhD thesis 1993), pp 297-282; and Muhammad Ali Damolla, Girükäslikning bayani [Discussion of pawn-broking] (Qäsqär cca, 1905-1910. Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library. Prov. 207. I. 45). On pre-1949 banking customs see Muhammad Ali Damolla, Sarrafliq vä banqaning bayani [A description of money changing and banking] Qäsqär cca. 1905-1910] Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library, Prov. 207.1.46.
39. Pawnshops used to be an important feature of local life prior to the communist takeover, but they were outlawed by the communist authorities in the 1950s. See J. Millward, Beyond the Pass: Commerce, Ethnicity and the Qing Empire in Xinjiang, 1759-1864 (Stanford: unpublished PhD thesis 1993), pp 297-282; and Muhammad Ali Damolla, Girükäslikning bayani [Discussion of pawn-broking] (Qäsqär cca, 1905-1910. Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library. Prov. 207. I. 45). On pre-1949 banking customs see Muhammad Ali Damolla, Sarrafliq vä banqaning bayani [A description of money changing and banking] Qäsqär cca. 1905-1910] Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library, Prov. 207.1.46.
40. Pawnshops used to be an important feature of local life prior to the communist takeover, but they were outlawed by the communist authorities in the 1950s. See J. Millward, Beyond the Pass: Commerce, Ethnicity and the Qing Empire in Xinjiang, 1759-1864 (Stanford: unpublished PhD thesis 1993), pp 297-282; and Muhammad Ali Damolla, Girükäslikning bayani [Discussion of pawn-broking] (Qäsqär cca, 1905-1910. Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library. Prov. 207. I. 45). On pre-1949 banking customs see Muhammad Ali Damolla, Sarrafliq vä banqaning bayani [A description of money changing and banking] Qäsqär cca. 1905-1910] Unpublished manuscript. Lund: University Library, Prov. 207.1.46.
41. See Hoppe, Die ethnischen Gruppen, p 111.
42. For a general description of the mäşräp see Häbibulla, Uyǧur Etnografiyisi, pp 448-459.
43. See N. N. Pantusov, Material k" izucheniyu narechiya taranchei iliiskago okruga. IX. Igry taranchinskikh" detei i muzhchin" (taranchinskii tekst", russkaya transkriptsiya I russkii perevod"). (Kazan': Tipo-Litografiya Imperatorskago Universiteta, 1907), p 5.
44. For example see K. March and R.L. Taqqu, Women's Informal Associations in Developing Countries. Catalysts for Change? Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Boulder & London: Westview Press, 1982). I. Bellér-Hann 'Informal associations among women in North-East Turkey', G. Rasuly- Paleczek, ed., Turkish Families in Transition (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1996), pp 114-138.
45. For example see K. March and R.L. Taqqu, Women's Informal Associations in Developing Countries. Catalysts for Change? Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Boulder & London: Westview Press, 1982). I. Bellér-Hann 'Informal associations among women in North-East Turkey', G. Rasuly- Paleczek, ed., Turkish Families in Transition (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1996), pp 114-138.
46. Materials concerning credit associations and their institutional framework among Uyghur refuges living in Kazakstan reveal further variations in the organizational patterns; e.g. among young, unmarried women, separate groups for first generation migrants as opposed to 'local' (yärlik) Uyghur whose ancestors had migrated from Xinjiang prior to the arrival of the latest large wave in the early 1960s, the possibility of multiple membership for some, etc. Some forms of the märäp among the Uyghur in Almaty, who mainly originate from the northern part of Xinjiang, also appear to function as a charity providing emergency financial aid to its members according to need (e.g. wedding, death, financial difficulties) but a detailed discussion of this situation does not belong here. The data discussed in this paper were largely collected in China, in the southern part of Xinjiang.
47. UNICEF Cooperation in China. Women in Development. Unpublished document, p 1. Courtesy of UNICEF.
48. Apparently this amount was later deducted at the repayment of the debt.
49. Cf. Bailey's description of the use of government loans by farmers in India, in Capital Saving and Credit, P 127).
50. The comments of both ordinary peasants and local cadres confirm the need to consider intra-household dynamics in projects which aim at self-sustained economic development, as elaborated by D. Dwyer and J. Bruce, 'Introduction', D. Dwyer and J. Bruce, eds, A Home Divided. Women and Income in the Third World (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), pp. 1-19 and B. L. Rogers, 'The internal dynamic of households. A critical factor in development policy', B. L. Rogers and N. P. Schlossman, eds, IntraHousehold Resource Allocation: Issues and Methods for Development Policy and Planning (Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 1990).
51. The comments of both ordinary peasants and local cadres confirm the need to consider intra-household dynamics in projects which aim at self-sustained economic development, as elaborated by D. Dwyer and J. Bruce, 'Introduction', D. Dwyer and J. Bruce, eds, A Home Divided. Women and Income in the Third World (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), pp. 1-19 and B. L. Rogers, 'The internal dynamic of households. A critical factor in development policy', B. L. Rogers and N. P. Schlossman, eds, IntraHousehold Resource Allocation: Issues and Methods for Development Policy and Planning (Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 1990).
52. The identification of domestic work as women's duty by women themselves has been documented in many contexts all over the world, for example E. Croll, Chinese Women Since Mao (New York: M.E. Sharp [1983] 1986) p 6; P. Jeffery, R. Jeffery, A Lyon, Labour Pain and Labour Power. Women and Childbearing in India (London and New Jersey: Zed Books Ltd), p 126, and among pieceworkers in Istanbul, see J. B. White, Money Makes Us Relatives. Women's Labor in Urban Turkey (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.)
53. The identification of domestic work as women's duty by women themselves has been documented in many contexts all over the world, for example E. Croll, Chinese Women Since Mao (New York: M.E. Sharp [1983] 1986) p 6; P. Jeffery, R. Jeffery, A Lyon, Labour Pain and Labour Power. Women and Childbearing in India (London and New Jersey: Zed Books Ltd), p 126, and among pieceworkers in Istanbul, see J. B. White, Money Makes Us Relatives. Women's Labor in Urban Turkey (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.)
54. The identification of domestic work as women's duty by women themselves has been documented in many contexts all over the world, for example E. Croll, Chinese Women Since Mao (New York: M.E. Sharp [1983] 1986) p 6; P. Jeffery, R. Jeffery, A Lyon, Labour Pain and Labour Power. Women and Childbearing in India (London and New Jersey: Zed Books Ltd), p 126, and among pieceworkers in Istanbul, see J. B. White, Money Makes Us Relatives. Women's Labor in Urban Turkey (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.)
55. See also I. Bellér-Hann, The Peasant Condition.
56. Obligation and voluntariness may come into conflict with each other. If a woman is called upon to play a supporting role in her husband's enterprise, her own wish to carry on xalis work such as sewing doppa has to give way to her mäjburiyät (obligation).
57. This concept of ruxsät is not unlike the concept of izin in rural Turkey as elaborated by C. Delaney. 'Traditional modes of authority and cooperation', in P. Stirling, ed., Culture and Economy. Changes in Turkish Villages (Huntingdon: The Eothen Press, 1993), pp 140-155.
58. In one case it was put aside for the couple's fertility treatment.
59. As Sharma remarks about the income allocation patterns of low-income families in another context 'this is less a case of greater personal freedom than of there being less scope for any kind of decision making by anyone, owing to the poverty of the families'. U. Sharma, Women, Work and Properly in North-West India (London and New York: Tavistock Publications, 1980), p 110.
60. Benería and Roldán too ask the question to what an extent 'a wife's role in handling a very limited fund of money, already committed to necessary basics, should be considered a manifestation of control'. Cf. L. Benería and M. Roldán, The Crossroads of Class and Gender. Industrial Homework, Subcontracting, and Household Dynamics in Mexico City (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1987), p 120.
61. This is also the case in the informal transactions of agricultural produce, although these are not discussed in this paper.