Once upon a time there was a 'bottomless basket'. No, this is not the starting of my fairy tale. But now Bangladesh is not the bottomless basket any more because of the efforts of the garment industry. In other words, the bottom of that basket was slowly woven up by the flourishing of garments whose workers who are mostly female. Now let us have a look at the following chart regarding the net income of Bangladesh through export of garments:
Year |
Net income (in dollar) |
1983-84 |
3,15,00,000 |
1987-88 |
43,39,00,000 |
1988-89 |
43,10,00,000 |
1989-90 |
62,41,00,000 |
1990-91 |
84,30,00,000 |
1991-92 |
118,25,00,000 |
1992-93 |
140,34,00,000 |
1993-94 |
180,00,00,000 |
1994-95 |
201,00,00,000 |
From the above information it is obvious that garment industry proved itself as a good source of earning. In other words it has introduced a golden era for the country. But who are playing the main role behind the curtain in earning that gold? They are the female garment workers who are seen in the city streets hurrying to their work place early in the morning and returning home at nightfall. You will find these golden girls dressed shabbily, carrying a tiffin box, running a race to win against an invisible opponent-'time'. They are the main processes of export. Very few care to know about them, very few think about their problems and very few care to raise voice to protect their rights. Where they have come from? How their lives go on? Are their contributions really appreciated?
They are the most neglected, uncared-for part of our society. They are usually rootless, helpless and sometimes desperate girls from the less enlightened part of the society; they live in insecurity and they work in the same condition in their work place. They don't know how to get rid of this precarious situation. Most of them are from very poor family. Prey of all sorts of social injustice. Their family life is full of misery. Their husbands desert many of them with one or two children. The so-called husband in many cases left her because he is a man and he is an arbiter and is free to do any thing or to go anywhere. All sorts of brutality e.g. beating, taking away all her belongings and earnings, treating her like a slave, leaving her with children, or divorcing her in a whimsical way etc. Few Muslims protest it; few care it. In fact, it is the society that victimizes this class though the society is one of 'Muslim' community. It creates a bad impression on the society. Society appreciates that according to Islamic law a man has supreme authority to terminate the married life with uttering a simple word three times. And the victim (woman) has nothing to do. The Alims of the society, who are the religious leaders of the country, seem to have no concern to end the misery of these helpless women by clarifying the proper method of divorce and by informing the people about the rights of women in a Muslim society.
A woman is bound to give all her belongings to her husband because he is her master (?) and after the termination of the married life, she becomes a penniless pauper with an uncertain future before her. Then she is badly in search of food and shelter. She needs a job. The garment factories are also in search for workers on a low wage. This is one of the ways that the garment factory owners get the female workers and get the chance to exploit them as well. Consequently the non-skilled helpless, uprooted hungry girls become the prey and the instruments of earning money and they work as the 'golden girls'. What an irony of fate! The golden girls live in a status below the poverty line. Again they become the victims of so many other crimes. They are awfully low-paid; they are forced to over work and are sacked without notice and without any compensation; they are hardly granted any leave even in the case of accident or sickness; and some times their wages fall in arrears for an indefinite time. And moreover very often they get raped on their way home and, to our utmost horror, in their work places!!
A few days ago I was informed about a girl (who is closely known to me) that when she went to bring her several months' payment from the factory (and she had gone several times before for the same reason) she was assaulted. She had every reason for getting upset and outraged; but she could not give to her temper and, instead, simply said to them, "I am not a beggar. I want the price of my labor. You have no right to behave this way." Then they took her inside a room and closed the door. My readers are sensible enough to perceive what happened later. Such happening is common in almost every garment industries. It is because of our collective social irresponsibility and the lack of our proper understanding about the status of woman ensured in our religion.
If you tell these oppressed women about Islam they will shrug. It is because their marriage and the divorce were done simply in the name of Islam and which has brought them all their miseries. Moreover, they have been separated from their own children, which is an inexpressibly painful experience for a mother.
People involved in the development of social condition must be practical when making their working strategy. They must consider the standpoint of the situation. Women labor in the garment industries is not simply a matter to be proud of; the reality is bitter. They are the pitiful prey of our unjust society and are becoming involved in so many social crimes for which they are not responsible in the least at all. Social developers and the social workers have to handle it carefully with the sympathy and love for the deprived ones. The Ulama (Islamic scholars) of the society should be sincere enough to clarify the proper Islamic method of divorce and the right of women in Islam so that no unscrupulous man can get the chance to persecute and exploit the women in the name of religion.
by Dr. Lulu Akhter Banu Sugandhi