She pushes through the crowd at the market, traverses a narrow alley, and crosses the small bridge that links the two markets. Then she hands the wares she has been carrying over to their owner, a trader. This service could earn her between Rp500 and Rp700, depending on the weight of her load.

The wares Asa carries vary from light baskets full of offerings to heavy sacks of rice. She begins work at six in the evening and finishes at six in the morning. A nights work could bring her anything between Rp6000 or even, when the going is good, up to Rp10,000.

Asa Sriani's job is as simple as her name, which is free of the various prefixes that indicate upper caste status. There is little that is stereotypically modern about her job as a labourer in a traditional market. She may not even know what the word "modern" means. Indeed, the modern, changing world would appear to be of little interest to her. That intellectuals are currently debating the role of women in society, the importance of women's rights, of their position of women vis-ˆ-vis men, and planning strategies for women to attain equality, is a fact of which Asa is completely unaware. Naomi Wolf may have had a lot to say about those things, but not Asa. Nevertheless, another fact of which Asa is unaware is that the very equality that has become the subject of the debates among her well-educated, theorist sisters, is a fact of her everyday life. Asa's job, that is, places her on a level footing with men. With economic rather than feminist motivations, Asa is a participant in women's struggle to attain equality.

There are many Asa Srianis. Traditional markets all over Bali employ both male and female porters. They are equal to the extent that they are capable of carrying the same heavy loads, and are therefore treated in the same manner by the traders they serve. There are also many Asa Srianis working in harsh, dusty places, carrying rocks to make roads, loading sand onto trucks, doing hard labour in exactly the same manner as the men who work alongside them. And, clearly, it is economics rather than politics that motivates them. They work to supplement their husbands wage, so that their income will be enough to support a family.

"My husband works on a building site. His wage is unsteady, that's why I work here so that we'll have enough money to live," says Asa, although she is quick to add that her husband does not force her to work, and that she has no complaints about having to do so. Sometimes, Asa's monthly wage is more than that of her husband. "This is the only job I can do. I get tired, but it's OK, it means I can support my family," says Asa, who has two children.

Asa Sriani's disconnectedness with the issue of "women's oppression" is typical of many lower class Balinese women. In her job, she, like other women porters in the market, is an equal to the men who share her occupation. She has never felt exploited by her husband, and she claims to work of her own will, not because she is forced to. Asa Sriani is a typical of a lower class Balinese woman, who lives her life as it is presented to her.

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