ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am deeply grateful to Naila Kabeer, from whose study of Bangladeshi women garment workers in London and Dhaka (The Power to Choose) I drew inspiration. Thank you to Naila for her comments on the manuscript, and also for lunch.

I would like to thank everyone at Transworld for their tremendous support, Nicole Aragi for wisdom (provided) and wonders (performed), and Mari Roberts for getting things under way. Colin Robinson and Grant and Wendy Bardsley gave me encouragement at all the necessary moments and valuable observations on the manuscript. I am indebted to my parents and my brother for many discussions over the years, and to my father in particular for handing down stories. Syful, Sofia, Naema, Ali, Shofiur and everyone else who gave up time to talk to me – thank you. To Simon I owe special thanks for being my first and most patient reader.