Mondina

A mondina (Italian: [monˈdiːna]; pl.: mondine; from the verb mondare, meaning 'to peel', 'to husk', 'to clean', or 'to weed') is a seasonal rice paddy female worker, especially in Italy's Po Valley from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th; though this practice traces back to about 600 years.

The work of monda (weeding) was widespread in northern Italy in that era. The work consisted of removing the weeds growing in rice fields that hindered the healthy growth of young rice plants. It took place during the flooding of the fields, from the end of April to the beginning of June every year, during which the delicate shoots needed to be protected, during the first stages of their development, from temperature differences between the day and the night. It consisted of two phases: transplanting the plants and pruning the weeds.

The monda was an extremely tiring task, carried out mostly by women of the poorest social classes from Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont, working in northern Italy, mostly around Vercelli, Novara and Pavia. The workers would spend their workdays with their bare feet in water up to their knees and their back bent for many hours. To protect themselves from insects and the sun, the workers would wear a scarf and a hat with broad brim and shorts or large panties so as not to wet their clothes. Commuting was often practiced by riding bikes to work.