Despite economic empowerment through formal employment, female workers in the country's lucrative readymade garments (RMG) sector continue to face significant risks of violence, including sexual harassment, both in the workplace and during commutes.

A safe and discrimination-free workplace is essential for the protection of women workers in garment factories. It is also crucial to strengthen systems for receiving complaints on various issues, including sexual harassment. Additionally, transportation needs to be provided for the safe commuting of women workers, and wages should be ensured during maternity leave, in accordance with labour laws.

In this context, an event titled "Learning Together: A Gender Justice Journey," organized by the Shojag Coalition under the project “Promoting Gender Justice for Women Workers in the Ready-Made Garment Sector” in association with the European Union, was held Sunday, at BRAC INN, Dhaka.

The RMG sector has been a driving force behind Bangladesh's economic growth, accounting for 83% of export revenue and employing 2.59 million workers, with 57% of them being women. It used to be close to 80% in the first few decades, but the proportion of women has been declining as the sector has been maturing.

RMG employers and buyers, representatives from NGOs and INGOs, UN officials, workers' rights-based Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), representatives from BGMEA and BKMEA, trade union members, and media attended the program and shared their experiences and concerns on the topic.

Taposh Barua, Program Manager, Ethical Trading Limited, shared that: "In the RMG sector, there is a tendency to address grievances verbally. Factories often fail to document complaints, as they believe it could negatively affect their audit outcomes."

Anindita Ghosh, Senior Program Officer, Solidarity Center, pointed out that: "The lack of training for women in automation and the absence of childcare support are major reasons of declining women workers in the RMG factories."

Mohammad Maruf Hosain, Deputy Manager, ActionAid, informed that: "The number of women in mid-level management positions in the RMG industry is very low. Most women are employed as sewing machine operators. Moreover, once a female worker in the RMG sector reaches the age of 35, she is often dismissed from the factory."

Laila Jasmin Banu, Program Manager, Governance and Rights, European Commission, stated: "The European Union in Bangladesh will continue its commitment to promote gender justice. Through projects funded by the EU, valuable lessons have been learned, and best practices will be applied to future EU projects."

Nuzhat Jabin, Country Director, Christian Aid, concluded: "A combined approach involving both factory and community interventions is essential to addressing GBV. Gender-diverse communities face numerous challenges that must also be addressed."