HUMANE RESCUE PRACTICE IN THE READYMADE GARMENTS INDUSTRY IN BANGLADESH
Md Nazrul Islam
11/13/94
Abstract:
Women in Bangladesh have
traditionally been excluded from taking part in social, political, and economic
activities by means of institutions such as the purdah(veil). However, the rise
of the ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh since the 1970s has provided
women with opportunities to work outside the home for wages. This change
coincided with changes such as a decline in the rural sector, increased
emphasis on girls ‘education, and campaigns to improve women’s health and reduce
fertility. As a result of these changes, the social exclusion of women has been reduced considerably
Introduction: Muslim women in
Bangladesh have traditionally been excluded from taking part in social,
political, and economic activities on the basis of the institution of purdah which
mandates women’s seclusion from society at large. However, many changes
have happened in the lives of women in Bangladesh with the advent of the
ready-made garments industry, which started in the country in the late 1970s
(Kabeer & Mahmud,2004). The industry employs primarily women workers (about
1.8 million), though supervisors are largely male (Kabeer & Mahmud, 2004).
Bangladeshi society is multi-dimensional: Since the exclusion faced by women
in Bangladeshi society is multi-dimensional, the use of a social exclusion
framework that investigates the social, political, and economic dimensions of
women’s exclusion, is appropriate. The analysis in this paper is based on the
existing peer-reviewed as well as “grey” literature in this field.
Ready-made garments industry on women’s
lives: The paper asserts that the
overall impact of the ready-made garments industry on women’s lives is mixed.
On the positive side, the industry offers women workers advantages not offered
by the other limited and rather arduous avenues of employment available to
women such as stone crushing, agricultural labor, and paid domestic work (Kabeer,
2004). The analysis also suggests that policies should be directed towards
addressing the specific problems women workers face, in order to make the
ready-made garments industry a more humane and sustainable option for women,
and a vehicle for change.
Structure of the paper:
The section below provides a brief
overview of the social exclusion framework, followed by a description of
women’s social exclusion in Bangladesh. Next, the role of international,
national, and local stakeholders in maintaining the exclusion of women, either
deliberately or inadvertently is analyzed. The paper ends with acknowledging
the limitations of this work, a call for action and concluding comments.
Social exclusion A brief review: Social
exclusion is thus actionable. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen makes a strong case
for analyzing social phenomena using a social exclusion approach (Sen,2000).
He asserts that the concept of social exclusion helps us to appreciate
important social, political and cultural deprivations in addition to economic
deprivation. Social exclusion prevents people from participating in social,
cultural and political life, which may adversely affect their access to
opportunities, that in turn affect their command health, among other things
(Sen,2000). This will be explored in this paper with respect to the ready-made
garments industry in Bangladesh.
Social exclusion in Bangladesh: In
Bangladesh, social exclusion can be said to be manifested as the discrimination
faced by the very poor in health services(Bates, Islam, Al-Kabir, &
Schuler, 2003; S. R.Schuler, Bates, & Islam, 2002); as women’s exclusion
from the formal economy and from social transactions (Amin, Diamond, Naved,
& Newby, 1998; N. Kibria, 1995) and as discrimination against marginalized
groups such as males who have sex with males, injecting drug users, hire (transsexuals)
and sex workers (Shale Ahmed, 2003).
Gender-based exclusion of women in
Bangladesh: Purdah, literally meaning veil or curtain, acts to
restrict women’s mobility by defining their proper space as being within the
boundaries of the home (Women, 2005). Purdah rules seek to minimize
interactions between persons of the opposite sex (Amin, et al., 1998). home.
economic actors. Employment outside
the house was frowned upon. In addition to the isolation caused by purdah,
women were married off in villages other than their natal village and were thus
further isolated (N. Kibria,1995).
At this point, it should be noted
that in the past few years, government and NGOs have helped to bring positive
changes such as a greater demand for girls’ education, involvement of women in
micro-credit activities, and reduction in fertility, among others (Sidney Ruth
Schuler, Bates, Islam, & Islam, 2006). It is also possible that women in
Bangladesh have much more agency and say in their lives than has been reported
in the literature. So it can be concluded that while the condition of girls and
women in Bangladeshi society has not remained static but has improved, wide
gender disparities still exist.
The ready-made garments industry in
Bangladesh Key features: The ready-made garments industry in
Bangladesh consists of many small to medium garment factories, both registered
and unregistered, that produce garments catering to foreign buying houses
(Kabeer & Mahmud,2004). In 2004, there were 3480 factories that employed
1.8 million workers of which 1.5 million were women (Kabeer,2004).
The existing research appears to
conclude that employment in this industry although exploitative, offers women
an income and may enable them to postpone marriage and childbearing since their
income is valued by their families. Positive changes in other aspects of
women’s lives have been mentioned but do not appear to have been evaluated as
strongly.
By expanding the focus of the investigation to include the hitherto social exclusion of women, this paper
suggests that the impact of the ready-made garment industry on women’s lives
may be more significant than has been previously thought to be. The paper
investigates whether the ready-made garments industry can be an agent of change
by helping to reduce the social, political, and economic exclusion faced by
women in Bangladesh.
Impact of the ready-made garments industry
on different dimensions of exclusion: As has been stated earlier, a
social exclusion approach is helpful in identifying the deprivation of social,
economic, and political capabilities of individuals (Estivill, 2003). This
section examines the positive impact of the industry on reducing the economic,
social, and political exclusion of women. This is followed by a discussion of
how women’s exclusion ironically gets fostered in the same industry.
Economic capabilities: Economic
capabilities of women have been enhanced by the employment generated by the
ready-made garments industry. In previous decades’ women were engaged in paid
work to a limited extent in the agricultural sector, at construction sites and
as domestic maids (Amin, et al., 1998). These activities were not counted in
national statistics (Kabeer & Mahmud, 2004). Now in the ready-made garment
industry, women on average have the opportunity to receive higher and possibly
more regular wages in the industry than in other alternatives open to them.
Social capabilities: Women’s
social capabilities have been enhanced as they are now able to develop an
identity for themselves, have social visibility and command respect in their
additional role of earning members of society (Amin, et al., 1998; Kabeer,
2004). Many women garment workers now report being bolder, more confident and
knowing of the ways of the world as they negotiate their workspaces, salaries, etc. in an often harsh environment (Amin, et al., 1998).
There is a change in the aspirations of
women and girls and their families toward education, employment, marriage and
childbearing. Earlier girls got married upon attaining puberty, thus
transitioning abruptly from childhood to womanhood (Amin, et al., 1998). The
lack of expectations about future monetary rewards acted as a disincentive to
invest in the health and education of girls. There is evidence that now more
families are investing in girls’ education with a view to engaging them in the
garments industry (Amin, et al., 1998; S. F. Rashid, 2006).
The potential to get promoted
within the factory creates an upward aspiration for women which is something
new and not available in occupations such as domestic work (S. F. Rashid,
2006). Upon gaining experience in the industry, some women change factories as
this may improve their prospects for getting higher wages (S. F. Rashid,2006).
Amin et al (1998) say that this “occupational mobility” is unlike that seen in
other industries in Bangladesh. Most entrants in the ready-made garments
industry are new entrants into the labor force, a pointer to the social changes
taking place (Kabeer, 2004).
Earlier, security was linked with
dependence on males and hence sons were valued more than daughters (Sultan
Ahmed & Bold, 2004). However, with the advent of the ready-made garment
industry as well as other social changes in Bangladesh, women garment workers
are now providing income support and, in some cases, a home for their parents
or widowed mothers. These functions could previously be fulfilled by sons only
(Sultan Ahmed & Bold, 2004). This
can change the expectation of the support that an adult daughter, married or
unmarried is capable of providing and may contribute to equalizing sons and
daughters in the eyes of their parents (Sultan Ahmed & Bold, 2004). This
indicates that women’s greater economic freedom may not necessarily change the
other aspects of their lives. On balance, however, the impact is expected to be
positive.
Political capabilities: Women’s
political capabilities are also being enhanced as women workers especially
those in the export processing zone (EPZ) factories are more aware of their
rights now. Strikes in garment factories now make national and sometimes
international news ("Garment workers revolt in Bangladesh," 2006).
Pressure from the disruption and strikes of 2006 paved the way for discussions
with factory owners and government officials ("Garment workers revolt in
Bangladesh,"2006), which eventually
yielded a new minimum wage for garment workers and other concessions. However
trade unions are still dominated by males and they do not necessarily address
concerns specific to women such as child care, sexual harassment and problems
in getting safe transportation, especially when working late at night (Kabeer,
2004; Kabeer & Mahmud, 2004; Siddiqi,2003). Some trade unions have started
women’s wings but the coverage is still low (Kabeer & Mahmud, 2004). Still, this is a beginning and has the potential to cultivate female leadership in the
years to come.
Exclusion of women within the ready-made
garments industry: After examining the largely positive changes
brought about by this industry, it is pertinent to examine how exclusion gets
fostered in ready-made garment factories. This section looks at gender
inequality, poor working conditions in factories and sexual harassment. The
massive employment of women in the ready-made garments industry while a boon
for poor, unemployed women is ironically also a reflection of the unequal
treatment given to women both within and outside this industry. Garment
factories prefer women workers because women are docile (Amin, et al., 1998;
Kabeer & Mahmud, 2004; N.Kibria, 1995; Nazli Kibria, 1998; Paul-Majumder
& Begum, 2000).
Women workers also experience
stress due to long hours, few breaks, repetitive work and poor working
conditions such as poor lighting and ventilation, unhygienic surroundings and
inadequate toilet facilities (Kabeer, 2004; Paul-Majumder & Begum,2000).
Weight loss, fatigue, head and ear complaints and eye problems among women
garment workers have been reported (Amin, et al., 1998). Many factory
structures are unsafe. Building collapses and fires that injured and killed
many persons have been reported (M. A. Rashid, 2006).
Role of different stakeholders in
maintaining social exclusion: Various stakeholders at the
international, national and community level (Estivill,2003) contribute to social
exclusion, knowingly or unknowingly. A look at these roles and consequences is
helpful in order to examine where interventions may be targeted to counter the
exploitation of women in this industry.
Internationally, first, as business
houses shift their production to places with the lowest cost of production,
they inadvertently worsen women’s exclusion. This is because in response to
such implicit or explicit threats to shift production, factory owners respond by
trying to produce at even lower costs, therein cutting back on amenities for workers,
reducing their wages and increasing demands for overtime.
Nationally, the Bangladesh government has
offered negligible social protection mechanisms to women workers in the industry.
Laws such as the law that prohibits women’s work after 8 pm are not enforced
(Absar, 2001). The Nari O Shishu Narration Domont Ain (2000) law has made
sexual harassment a criminal offense (Siddiqi, 2003). Yet this law uses language
that is obsolete and vulnerable to misinterpretation and does not have special
provisions for the workplace (Siddiqi, 2003).
The new Bangladesh Labour Law 2006
also does not mention sexual harassment per se, though it prohibits
discrimination on the basis of “sex, color and creed” (GTZ, 2007). In the
meantime, incidents of violence against women that are employed as garment
workers have increased (Siddiqi, 2003). In 1998, while female garment workers
accounted for only 2-3% of the total population of women in the Dhaka Metropolitan
area, they accounted for a disproportionately high 11 % of rape cases
(Paul-Majumder & Begum, 2000).
Policy options to counter exclusion: Given that social exclusion is a
process, economic, political, and social changes can help individuals and groups
move along the exclusion-inclusion continuum, from being excluded to being
relatively included (Estivill, 2003). These changes can be purposively
initiated and/or facilitated by the stakeholders interested in improving the
situation of women garment workers in Bangladesh. Such stakeholders include the
women workers themselves, the factory owners, foreign buyers, the Bangladesh
government, governments of major foreign trading partners, aid agencies, local
NGOs and human rights bodies that are interested in facilitating sustainable
development and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh.
Previous policy measures to counter
exclusion include initiatives for the education of garment workers, housing
for garment workers, day-care facilities for their children, legal literacy
for women and documentation of the work of different agencies working with
garment workers in order to prevent overlap and disseminate information. These
efforts have been undertaken by associations of garment factory owners, NGOs
and aid agencies.
Future policy options: There is
an urgent need for action to improve the condition of women workers in the
ready-made garments industry of Bangladesh. Future policy initiatives should be
directed not only at the root causes of women’s exclusion but also toward
addressing the specific problems that women workers face, in order to make the
ready-made garments industry a more humane and sustainable option for women.
Based on the problems being currently faced by women garments workers, further emphasis
and action should be on the following:
Organize women: First, women
need to be organized and made aware of their rights (Kabeer, 2004). One study
found that only about 23% of women in factories located in the relatively elite
export processing zone were aware of Bangladesh’s labor laws (Kabeer &
Mahmud,2004). By coming together, women can generate social capital and by
cooperating instead of competing, they can gain even without being formally
registered as a group (Baruah,2004). Women’s groups and NGOs are more aware of
community realities and are respected more in the community than alternative
forms of organizations such as trade unions (Kabeer, 2004). NGOs and women’s
organizations can initiate a beginning by offering safe spaces where women can
share their experiences and discuss options to prevent harassment. They can
help build women’s confidence and resistance to harassment of various kinds.
This might lead to the natural growth of women workers’ advocacy bodies with
time. Local and foreign aid agencies as well as factory owners can support such
initiatives.
Counter sexual harassment: Second, the sexual harassment laws
need to be made more specific by correcting the dated language that is couched
in terms of a “woman’s modesty” (Siddiqi, 2003). The law should protect against
all forms of gender-based harassment and not just sexual harassment and at all
places, and not just in the workplace (Siddiqi, 2003). Support for a broader
definition of harassment can be drawn from the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to which Bangladesh is a
signatory (Siddiqi, 2003).
Create awareness of ground realities: Third,
stakeholders advocating for a social clause need to be made aware that despite
harsh working conditions, the ready-made garments industry represents genuine
and better avenues for women (Kabeer, 2004). Thus the effort should be to
understand the ground realities. Foreign trading partners need to help
Bangladesh to enforce better labor standards such as better working conditions,
transport for workers, and childcare.
State action: Fourth, the State
should focus on industrial diversification so as to protect workers in the
event that factories close down as a result of the volatility in the demand for
ready-made garment goods, or for other reasons (Kabeer & Mahmud, 2004). The
State and NGOs should provide skills training for women so that women are able
to receive higher-paid jobs within and outside the industry (Kabeer, 2004). The
State needs to ensure compliance with laws.
Improve girls’ education: Sixth, the age-old recommendation
of improving girls’ education continues to be relevant. The benefits of girls’
education for their overall well-being are too well known to need elaboration
here. Specifically, in the ready-made garments industry, educated women workers
are more aware of their rights and able to earn better salaries than their
uneducated counterparts (Kabeer & Mahmud, 2004). Special schools by NGOs that
can serve the educational needs of adolescent and adult female workers should
be supported by the State and other stakeholders such as buyers. Buyers can
attach conditionality such as a stipulation that factory owners must devote a
part of their profits to women’s and girls’ education, after consulting with
local NGOs that may be better aware of the pros and cons of such a strategy and
be able to advise on implementation issues.
Limitations: This study has the
following limitations. First, the analysis is based on secondary sources and
does not present fresh statistical data. Second, some of the data sources are
dated since the latest data is not available. Third, most studies cited are
cross-sectional studies which preclude establishing causality. Fourth, none of
these studies conducted a thorough direct comparison of living conditions and attitudes
among non-working women and those employed in the garments industry. The claim
of changes brought about by the garments industry is thus based largely on the
reports of garment industry workers alone. Hence further documentation of
changes in society due to the ready-made garments industry is recommended.
However, the thrust of the paper is not statistical, and hence, these
limitations should not prove to be major.
Conclusions Women’s exclusion and the ready-made garment
industry: This paper set out to analyze the impact of the
ready-made garment industry on women in Bangladesh using a social exclusion
framework. The paper sought to identify the various sources of exclusion and
the impact of the industry on these. Estivill’s assertion (Estivill, 2003) that
social exclusion Is a dynamic continuum, wherein relatively socially excluded
people can be moved towards inclusion, as a consequence of changes in the
environment, seems to be supported by the evidence from Bangladesh. Changes
brought about by this industry have reduced the political, social, and economic
exclusion, faced by women in Bangladeshi society. This is reflected in the
relaxation of norms regarding purdah, a boost for girls’ education, a delay in marriage
and childbearing, a reduction in family size and the changing role of women in
society, varying degrees of which can be attributed to this industry. While
these changes are most evident for women that actually work in this industry,
the change in social norms benefits women outside the industry as well.
Yet sexual harassment and unequal
treatment of women persist in this industry. These contradictions in the
impact of this industry exist since deep-seated inequalities in society are
unlikely to go away as a residual effect of economic changes alone. As Estivill
contends, different stakeholders at the international, national, and community
levels have an active role to play in reducing exclusion (Estivill, 2003). This
analysis identifies policy areas where stakeholders should act to safeguard
women’s rights and thereby contribute to reducing exclusion. Further research
is needed to enhance the understanding of these changes and how they might be
initiated and sustained.
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