https://www.pitara.com/tags/women-in-industry/Recent content in Women in Industry on Pitara Kids NetworkHugoen-usSat, 13 Jun 2026 21:46:31 +0530https://www.pitara.com/non-fiction-for-kids/features-for-kids/the-shoe-shine-women/Tue, 24 Dec 2002 11:19:57 +0000https://www.pitara.com/non-fiction-for-kids/features-for-kids/the-shoe-shine-women/<p>Ludhiana, the industrial capital of the state of Punjab in northern India, is like any other prosperous Indian city but for one interesting difference. Its cobblers are largely women.</p> <p>A trip to the inter-state bus stand, outside the railway station, at roadside corners, in the local markets, under trees, and in almost every other place that you can think of, will reveal scores of them, polishing shoes of commuters in the vicinity.</p> <figure class="image-medium has-caption"> <a href="https://www.pitara.com/media/features-122_1.gif" aria-label="Link to larger image"> <img src="https://www.pitara.com/media/features-122_1_hu_f1029c2df95621b7.gif" srcset="https://www.pitara.com/media/features-122_1_hu_d942b8573291772c.gif 320w, https://www.pitara.com/media/features-122_1_hu_f1029c2df95621b7.gif 900w" sizes="(min-width: 900px) 900px, 320px" alt="The Shoe-shine Women [Illustration by Sudheer Nath]" height="720" width="900" loading="lazy"> </a> <figcaption>The Shoe-shine Women [Illustration by Sudheer Nath]</figcaption> </figure> <p>Actually, they may not like being referred to as cobblers. For it appears that the strange workings of the Indian caste hierarchy is at work here too. These women only polish shoes. They never repair them.</p>