Narratives of Struggle and the Inclusion of Physically Challenged Women in the Garment Manufacturing Industries of Bangladesh

Abstract

Physically challenged women signify a substantial part of the global population and encounter numerous adversities in developing countries. O’Reilly and International Labour Office (2007) mentioned that physically challenged women confront more significant difficulties and challenges than their male peers in Bangladesh. They face double discrimination due to their gender and physical impairment in seeking healthcare, education, vocational training and employment opportunities. They are hardly included in the mainstream labour market through rehabilitation programmes and are less likely to get equality in training, and if they acquire successful vocational training, they are more likely to work part time jobs or remain unemployed. In Bangladesh, among the non-government organisations working for physically challenged persons, the Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) has been prominently providing an extensive range of high quality services to physically challenged people since its establishment in 1979. CRP- Ganakbari is a sub-centre of the main centre, which plays a significant role in including physically challenged women into mainstream society and running successful Income Generating Activities (IGA) by providing them vocational training facilities. Marks and Spencer, a world known retailer, started the Marks & Start project in Bangladesh to train and employ physically challenged persons. CRP, Marks and Spencer have joint forces since 2006 to train physically challenged women in industrial sewing and employ them in Marks and Spencer sourcing garment manufacturing industries in Bangladesh. The study aims to narrate the struggle and inclusion of physically challenged women in garment manufacturing industries. The thesis is based on the primary data collected from physically challenged women in garment manufacturing industries regarding their experiences during 2018-2019. The study was conducted in two garment manufacturing industries- Rupali Garment Manufacturing Industry and Sonali Garment Manufacturing Industry (pseudo names) where physically challenged women are referred for employment under the Marks & Start project run by Marks and Spencer Company and CRP’s partnership. Detailed narratives and in-depth information was gathered from 50 respondents by applying various methods and techniques. Though physically challenged women were the principal respondents, rehabilitation personnel of CRP and staff of garment manufacturing industries and community people were also included as the research respondents to know about various issues on their life struggles and inclusion in the garment manufacturing industries. The reflexive position of the researcher has enriched the data collection and analysis. It includes Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice and Foucault’s power, knowledge and discourse for analysing the research findings. The study identified that physically challenged women have various impairments and thus covered all types of them to identify whether any particular impairment has more challenges for inclusion and retainment in the labour force of garment manufacturing industries. Impairment by birth, fever, accident and family based violence, including the violence of husband are identified as the primary causes of their physical impairment. Lack of timely proper treatment is an issue for physical impairment for many; majority of the informants informed that first, their parents took them to traditional healers such as kabiraj, fakir and hujur for treatment; when their physical condition deteriorated, then they were taken to physicians. Ultimately, they could not continue the treatment for lack of funds and returned to the kabiraj. Most of the informants’ struggle for livelihood started after their father’s death and, in some cases, when their parents depended on their brothers’ income for living. Being neglected, they tried to escape the family chaos and began searching for their subsistence. Most physically challenged women have secondary education but could not pass SSC primarily because of economic adversity. Several of them started working as domestic help, garment industry workers, and tailors, and some worked as teachers at different NGO schools for physically challenged children and adults. They heard about the inclusion of physically challenged women in garment manufacturing industries of the CRP programme from their relatives, neighbours, Upazila Social Welfare Office, distant villagers, locals who work at CRP and sometimes from other physically challenged women. It seems that Bourdieu’s social and cultural capital fits well for their reaching to CRP. Upon arrival at CRP, the doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers checked their physical impairment and assessed each physically challenged woman to decide the appropriate treatment and skills training suited her individually. The programme encourages the trainees to aim for high quality during the training and become competent professionals in their respective fields. Trainees receive completion certificates after the training programme, which may be an institutional cultural capital in the field of employment. During training, the social welfare and compliance officers from different industries visit and select physically challenged women trainees according to their industry needs. Marks and Spencer company bears the expense of each trainee 50 per cent, and the industry owner (who selects them) bears 50 per cent. In completing training under the Marks & Start project, the garment manufacturing industry’s authority picks physically challenged women from CRP and tests their skills. If they pass the skill test, the authority recruits them as machine operators. If they fail, the garment manufacturing industries either recruit them as assistant operators or send them to the industry training centre to develop their skills. The physically challenged workers enjoy some facilities while simultaneously encountering some significant challenges. Though the terms and conditions of physically challenged and regular workers are equal, the management deals with them more humanely and has some unwritten facilities for them. The most significant challenges the physically challenged women confront in working the garment manufacturing industry are accessibility problems, incompatible per hour production targets, timing problems, accommodation, lack of recreation and long working hours, which affect their vulnerable health. However, most physically challenged women said about their excellent relationships with supervisors and co-workers regarding the work environment. Informants are usually satisfied with their job, have no intention to switch, and want no further training. Among the 34 physically challenged women, 19 are leading conjugal lives though more physically challenged women are officially married. Most of the physically challenged women of the study bear their family expenses from their earnings as their husbands have irregular income, are unemployed, and depend on their income. Their expenses are mainly house rent, daily food, parents’ necessities, rearing children, tuition fees of children and siblings and medical costs. Only seven physically challenged women’s husbands have a regular income and contribute to family expenses. Abandoned, physically challenged women with children and those having children and husbands without a regular income are economically vulnerable. Despite economic vulnerability, 41 per cent of the physically challenged women have some savings. Many informants said that family members thought of them as a burden before working in the garment manufacturing industries. Some community members look down upon them for their physical impairment and for working in the garment manufacturing industries. The attitudes of the family and community members became positive towards them when they started to contribute to their families and act as agents by working in the garment manufacturing industries. Positive attitudes towards physically challenged women influence their inclusion in the family, community, workplace and everywhere in society and encourage them to accomplish fundamental goals. The research findings indicate that it may take time to change the attitude toward physically challenged women at the individual or community level but not impossible. This research expects to contribute to future studies by providing reliable information about physically challenged women, their life struggle and inclusion in garment manufacturing industries, as there is hardly any study in this area. These findings would also help the policymakers to develop a systematic and logical policy addressing the inclusion of physically challenged women.