Rifat Zafreen :
Saleha was born in a poor family that she was destined to. While she grew up, she thought of earning by herself. Once she stepped in to a new world with her utter astonishment, happiness of getting her dream come true. She got a job in a garment factory and started her new journey alone.
Like Saleha many women have benefited themselves along with the country from this hiring boom. Currently the majority of garment industry’s four million employees are female. For four decades, garment industry has powered the economy of the country and put more people to work than any other sector. And in such gorge our women are the main contributing factor.
But while the textile trade has put money in women’s purses and challenged the patriarchal society to evolve, economic empowerment has not greatly improved gender equality and female wellbeing completely. Women with jobs in the largest industry here in the country are now imperiled at home and at work. This is the sector where women are the epitome of success, face hurdle in their health, safety and welfare issues. These women get exploited both physically and emotionally at home and at work.
Most of the women in garment sector have the same story-they had been married, are poorly educated, migrated to cities from poverty stricken households to work and support their families. Most of these female garment workers work at least 10 hours perday and every day. Many work overtime to meet their daily production quota of 100 shirts per hour. And depending on their position, they spend the entire shifts either standing if they are quality inspectors, sitting if they are machine operators or moving if they are factory floor helpers.
This faded story even, goes on after their work. Among these female garment workers, most married female workers’ workdays do not end when their shift at the factory ends. Back home, they are to cook, clean, perform other household chores-work on top of work that leaves them exhausted and prone to illness. Pregnant women in particular suffer significant health problems like hyper-tension due to their brutal schedules. And yet most women, needing the income, continue working and hide their pregnancy as long as possible out of fear that supervisors might fire them if they find out their physical condition.
They are also to pay emotional toll to bring sunshinc for us. Working mothers from rural villages report experience high level of guilt, anxiety and stress caused by being away from their children. The illfated mothers often are to leave their children in their home village as they cannot afford time and money to take care of them keeping in Dhaka.
According to a research it is shown that two out of five workers have suicidal tendencies, which is alarming and shabby part of this success story. This research also identifies a disturbing correlation between employment in the garment industry and violence in physical, emotional and sexual form against women 43 percent women admits of having being somehow sexually assaulted at work and at home even by their spouses.
There is no doubt that women in Bangladesh have earned a degree of autonomy and financial independence from their participation in the garment industry. But behind the screen of this success story, there is still many stories. Our female garment workers are to pay cost to bring sunshine and smile in garment industry.
Time has come to change the fate of our female garment workers who dig gold mine for the country at the cost of their long sigh and sweat. Industries so have to ensure gender equality putting it a high emphasis for their betterment. The owners of the garment factory have to try stop gender imbalance at the workplace. Factory health care system has to be noted seriously as mental illness becomes a serious problem for the female garment workers. Most factories have no mental health-care provisions at all for their workers which let most female workers suffer in silence. Profound changes in politics and programs are also needed to improve women’s role in financial decision making. It is necessary to change our mindset towards women and help and stand beside them to let them achieve women empowerment in all respects.
Media, both electronic, print and social can work together to create and increase the level of awareness among the mass. Local leaders, teachers and religious leaders can help change the mindset of the people to appreciate women in all cases for the greater purpose and interest of the women and country.
Our female garment workers are our asset, our gold mine. They are the epitome of our success in this regard. We should never let spare a drop of their tears, sweat and long sigh. We can never deny that they are the face of our country.
(PID Project Feature)
Saleha was born in a poor family that she was destined to. While she grew up, she thought of earning by herself. Once she stepped in to a new world with her utter astonishment, happiness of getting her dream come true. She got a job in a garment factory and started her new journey alone.
Like Saleha many women have benefited themselves along with the country from this hiring boom. Currently the majority of garment industry’s four million employees are female. For four decades, garment industry has powered the economy of the country and put more people to work than any other sector. And in such gorge our women are the main contributing factor.
But while the textile trade has put money in women’s purses and challenged the patriarchal society to evolve, economic empowerment has not greatly improved gender equality and female wellbeing completely. Women with jobs in the largest industry here in the country are now imperiled at home and at work. This is the sector where women are the epitome of success, face hurdle in their health, safety and welfare issues. These women get exploited both physically and emotionally at home and at work.
Most of the women in garment sector have the same story-they had been married, are poorly educated, migrated to cities from poverty stricken households to work and support their families. Most of these female garment workers work at least 10 hours perday and every day. Many work overtime to meet their daily production quota of 100 shirts per hour. And depending on their position, they spend the entire shifts either standing if they are quality inspectors, sitting if they are machine operators or moving if they are factory floor helpers.
This faded story even, goes on after their work. Among these female garment workers, most married female workers’ workdays do not end when their shift at the factory ends. Back home, they are to cook, clean, perform other household chores-work on top of work that leaves them exhausted and prone to illness. Pregnant women in particular suffer significant health problems like hyper-tension due to their brutal schedules. And yet most women, needing the income, continue working and hide their pregnancy as long as possible out of fear that supervisors might fire them if they find out their physical condition.
They are also to pay emotional toll to bring sunshinc for us. Working mothers from rural villages report experience high level of guilt, anxiety and stress caused by being away from their children. The illfated mothers often are to leave their children in their home village as they cannot afford time and money to take care of them keeping in Dhaka.
According to a research it is shown that two out of five workers have suicidal tendencies, which is alarming and shabby part of this success story. This research also identifies a disturbing correlation between employment in the garment industry and violence in physical, emotional and sexual form against women 43 percent women admits of having being somehow sexually assaulted at work and at home even by their spouses.
There is no doubt that women in Bangladesh have earned a degree of autonomy and financial independence from their participation in the garment industry. But behind the screen of this success story, there is still many stories. Our female garment workers are to pay cost to bring sunshine and smile in garment industry.
Time has come to change the fate of our female garment workers who dig gold mine for the country at the cost of their long sigh and sweat. Industries so have to ensure gender equality putting it a high emphasis for their betterment. The owners of the garment factory have to try stop gender imbalance at the workplace. Factory health care system has to be noted seriously as mental illness becomes a serious problem for the female garment workers. Most factories have no mental health-care provisions at all for their workers which let most female workers suffer in silence. Profound changes in politics and programs are also needed to improve women’s role in financial decision making. It is necessary to change our mindset towards women and help and stand beside them to let them achieve women empowerment in all respects.
Media, both electronic, print and social can work together to create and increase the level of awareness among the mass. Local leaders, teachers and religious leaders can help change the mindset of the people to appreciate women in all cases for the greater purpose and interest of the women and country.
Our female garment workers are our asset, our gold mine. They are the epitome of our success in this regard. We should never let spare a drop of their tears, sweat and long sigh. We can never deny that they are the face of our country.
(PID Project Feature)
