ABSTRACT
The customary underestimation of women’s economic contributions both in and out of the labour market is largely due to the fact that many women in rural Punjab, Gujarat, Pakistan, and Bangladesh work only intermittently and often without pay. For these women, familial and economic roles are usually complementary, since both may centre around the home, family farm, or business. Economic activity in these situations is not necessarily an alternative but rather a normal and natural extension of a woman’s domestic responsibilities and contributes both directly and indirectly to the maintenance and renewal of male labour power and to the creation of surplus value.
