In mid-September 2005, Council of Social Science (COSS) announced the establishment of Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Award of Rs. 50,000 to be given to the best book written during the last five years in the fields of rural/urban development, gender discrimination, peace, and poverty and its alleviation. Out of the 15 books the Council received for the Award, the executive committee of the Council short listed four books and submitted them to a three-member selection committee of experts. The committee selected the book Hazardous Home-based Sub-contracted Work: A Study of Multiple Tiered Exploitation1 by Shahrukh Rafi Khan, Saba Gul Khattak and Sajid Kazmi.
About the Book
The book follows a systematic qualitative and quantitative interdisciplinary approach, and meets international standards of scholarship. It addresses issues of poverty and gender discrimination - the areas which have been specified for the Award.
The book studies home-based workers, specifically incense stick makers, carpet weavers and sack stitchers. The research conducted for this book indicates that subcontracted home-based workers are highly exploited: wages are low, the hours long and irregular, and the work repetitive and often hazardous. There is a concentration of women and children, particularly girls, in the work force. The study analyzes the role of the intermediaries at various levels within the globalised trading agreements.
Relying upon empirical data, this book adds to the conceptual and empirical base of the limited knowledge available to date. It focuses, on the national level, on micro and macro issues and on linking home-based work to the global value chain. At the micro level, the authors look at various issues, particularly the health, economic, and empowerment aspects of home-based work, while at the macro level they locate home-based work in the broader labor market and link it to structural adjustment. A detailed summary of findings and recommendations is given at the end, with copious references to other studies in the field.
The authors have expressed their gratefulness to the COSS for the recognition granted to their work and decided to contribute the award money to the communities with whom they worked.
World renowned Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan (1914-1999) was the Director of Pakistan Rural Development Academy, Comilla. In 1980, he founded the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) at Karachi. For his pioneering work in rural development Dr. Khan was given Sitara-e-Pakistan in 1961 and the Magsaysay award in 1963. The University of Michigan conferred on him honorary degree of Doctorate of Law in 1964.
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