Exploring gender as a fundamental factor in the way that lives of individuals, families and societies across Asia are organized, this timely Handbook studies the importance of modernization and globalization for understanding gender in Asia. It brings together a wide range of scholarly perspectives on five critical areas in the field: ageing and health; labour; migrations and mobilities; gender at the margins, and the theory and practice of researching in Asia. Identifying gaps in current research, and using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the topic, this volume demonstrates the difference a gendered perspective makes in providing a better understanding of these issues in Asia. Using empirical case studies, contributors highlight the challenges and changes to cultured traditions and practices that surround gendered norms surrounding the societal roles of men and women in Asia. The volume offers fresh, nuanced insights to socio-political currents in Asian countries. This far-reaching collection will be an essential read for scholars in the social sciences interested in gender issues in Asia, human geography, sociology, anthropology, development studies, gender politics; and for NGOs and policy-makers. Contributors include: A.L. Abeyasekera, A. Adenwala, A. Arslan, C. Caron, L.-H.N. Chiang, A. Datta, M. De Silva, E.L.-E. Ho, E.S. Ho, S. Huang, H. Igarashi, R. Ito, J. Knodel, K. Kusakabe, H. Lee, M. Morikawa, P. Raghuram, S. Ramnarain, K.N. Ruwanpura, S. Shroff, B.C. Somaiah, G. Sondhi, P. Statham, W.-m. Tang, B. Teerawichitchainan, M. Thompson, S. Turner, L. Wilks, Y. Yang, S. Yea, C. Zuberec

Exploring gender as a fundamental factor in the way that lives of individuals, families and societies across Asia are organized, this timely Handbook studies the importance of modernization and globalization for understanding gender in Asia. It brings together a wide range of scholarly perspectives on five critical areas in the field: ageing and health; labour; migrations and mobilities; gender at the margins, and the theory and practice of researching in Asia. Identifying gaps in current research, and using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the topic, this volume demonstrates the difference a gendered perspective makes in providing a better understanding of these issues in Asia. Using empirical case studies, contributors highlight the challenges and changes to cultured traditions and practices that surround gendered norms surrounding the societal roles of men and women in Asia. The volume offers fresh, nuanced insights to socio-political currents in Asian countries. This far-reaching collection will be an essential read for scholars in the social sciences interested in gender issues in Asia, human geography, sociology, anthropology, development studies, gender politics; and for NGOs and policy-makers. Contributors include: A.L. Abeyasekera, A. Adenwala, A. Arslan, C. Caron, L.-H.N. Chiang, A. Datta, M. De Silva, E.L.-E. Ho, E.S. Ho, S. Huang, H. Igarashi, R. Ito, J. Knodel, K. Kusakabe, H. Lee, M. Morikawa, P. Raghuram, S. Ramnarain, K.N. Ruwanpura, S. Shroff, B.C. Somaiah, G. Sondhi, P. Statham, W.-m. Tang, B. Teerawichitchainan, M. Thompson, S. Turner, L. Wilks, Y. Yang, S. Yea, C. Zuberec

Sri Lanka's apparel sector holds an enviable place in the imaginary of its competitors for having a niche position amongst global retailers, given its claims of producing 'garments without guilt'. Exploitative labour conditions are not part of the industry's portfolio - ethicality, eco-friendly production and unblemished conditions of work are. Sri Lanka's transition away from a protracted ethnic war has meant that the industry portrays itself as investing in the former war zone to create jobs without reflection on how its vaunted mantle, the deployment of ethical codes effectively, themselves may be under duress. This book uses an analytical framing informed by labour and feminist perspectives to explore how labour struggles in the post-1977 period in Sri Lanka provided important resistance to capitalist processes and continue to shape the industry both within and outside of the shop floor. It studies contextual moments in the country's recent history to rupture the dominant narrative and record the centrality of labour in the success of the country's apparel industry.