Paper short abstract:

The overall focus of this paper is on relationship between the process of globalization and local socio-cultural practices of cotton-picking women workers in the global production network for the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in Punjab, Pakistan.

Paper long abstract:

A number of scholarly studies suggest that globalization—a process largely supported and intensified by colonial and imperial interests—has substantially re-formulated traditional societies in terms of economic mechanisms and socio-cultural practices (which include social organization, family structure, gender (in) equality, professions, ideas about religion and politics, etc.). We nuance this ascertain by studying the lives of cotton-picking women in Pakistani Punjab in the 2000s. We argue that the process of globalization—in terms of mechanized harvesting and integration with global political economy of trade—has not really changed the socio-cultural practices among these cotton-picking women. The status of women workers remains the same; the ideas related to education, politics, religion, social organization, values and attitudes show insignificant alteration. At micro-level, the mechanization of society does not change hierarchies as such, in fact, previously dominating groups and communities continue to enjoy their role in a new set up. Such reading of globalization at micro-level, also suggests that communities of zamindar (landholders) and labor (such as cotton-picking women) accept only those aspects of globalization, which do not challenge their existing norms and values. By considering the working of global production network for the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in Punjab, we show how the activities of such organizations have to reconcile with local socio-cultural practices to be effective and accepted.