El trabajo de las mujeres en la Granada de los siglos XIX y XX: lavaderos públicos y lavanderas de los ríos Darro y Genil

Abstract

The goal of this study is to lay bare the social and economic factors which contributed to the working life of laundresses in the city of Granada in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. During this time period, the activity of washing clothing and other textiles occurred in laundries, the structures specifically built for this purpose, but also along the banks of the Darro and Genil Rivers. Our research has brought to light hitherto unknown aspects of both the public and private laundries of Granada, which were dispersed by city planning of the period. These spaces, where women carried out a hard labour activity, also provided them with a public location for social interaction; places where the women of the time could relate to their peers and participate in a community social environment outside of the private sphere of their homes.