What happens when government gets out of the way - is prevented from interfering in the market - and instead individuals are permitted to act freely in the economic arena? Look no further than China and India where women are beginning to reap the political and social freedom that follows economic independence.
“It took market forces, and the advent of an export-oriented garment industry, to achieve what a decade of government and non-government efforts had failed to do: to create a female labor force.” Industrialisation has increased women’s educational attainment and lowered rates of child marriage. According to Kabeer, it has also softened the social norm of purdah or female seclusion and improved the court system’s responsiveness to women. “Garments have been very good for women,” one factory worker told Kabeer. Her earnings had enabled her to escape her physically abusive husband. “Now I feel I have rights,” she continued, “I can survive.” Escaping poverty and achieving equal rights often go hand in hand."