When they came to London many Bangladeshi women became homeworkers, joining a long tradition in the East End. Although it is not known with any degree of accuracy how many Bangladeshi households had women working as machinists, anecdotes and personal experiences of people associated with the Stepney Community Trust, the numbers must have been significant. These women worked very hard, night and day, carried out multiple tasks and were the backbone of the now successful East London Bangladeshi community in the making. Their stories cannot and must not remain hidden anymore. The interviews and research articles in this publication will open our eyes to a world not many people knew existed or only heard a bit about it and helped inspire us to new struggles to create an even better world for all.

By Stepney Community Trust