Girls of the Factory: A Year with the Garment Workers of Morocco, (Paperback)

"A very realistic and readable ethnography."--Susan Schaefer Davis, author of Adolescence in a Moroccan Town "Offers a portrait of the lives of Moroccan women working in factories. With sensitivity and great honesty, Cairoli evokes the struggles women face as they enter an exploitative labor force and challenge cultural norms. A poignant and devastating portrayal of the underside of globalization."--Rachel Newcomb, author of Women of Fes: Ambiguities of Urban Life in Morocco In Morocco today, the idea of female laborers is generally frowned upon. Yet despite this, many women are beginning to find work in factories. Laetitia Cairoli spent a year in the ancient city of Fes; Girls of the Factory tells the story of what life is like for working women. Forced to find a factory job herself so that she could speak more intimately with working women, she was able to learn firsthand why they work, what working means to them, and how important earning a wage is to their sense of self. Cairoli conveys a general sense of the working life of women in Morocco by describing daily life inside a Moroccan sewing factory. She also reveals the additional work they face inside their homes. More than an ethnography, this volume is also for those who want to better understand what life is like for a new generation of young women just entering the workforce. M. Laetitia Cairoli is adjunct professor of anthropology at Montclair State University.