Rapid urbanization has always spawned slums. But what are they like to live in? And particularly for women? This study of slum culture and gender relations compares two slums in Asia - Ratmalana in Colombo and Khlong Toey in Bangkok - and shows how the impact of urbanization, economic change and national politics has differed significantly in Sri Lanka and Thailand, despite their common cultural background of Theravada Buddhism.

The book explores the impact of these differences on gender relations and the lives of the very poorest men and women. Dr Thorbek, a Danish sociologist, discusses how gender identity is defined; the contradictions between culture as publicly expressed and privately practised in women's daily activities; and how female identity may be understood in each country.

And, as in her previous, highly acclaimed Voices from the City; Women of Bangkok (Zed Books, 1987), the author allows the women in the slums to speak through her pages.