Chapter One: Introduction
Introduction
The apparel industry of Bangladesh started its journey in the 1980s and has come
to the position it is in today. The late Nurool Quader Khan was the pioneer of the
readymade garment industry in Bangladesh. He had a vision of how to transform
the country. In 1978, he sent 130 trainees to South Korea where they learned how
to produce readymade garments.
With those trainees, he set up the first factory "Desh Garments” to produce
garments for export. At the same time, the late Akhter Mohammad Musa of Bond
Garments, the late Mohammad Reazuddin of Reaz Garments, Md Humayun of
Paris Garments, Engineer Mohammad Fazlul Azim of Azim Group, Major (Retd)
Abdul Mannan of Sunman Group, M Shamsur Rahman of Style craft Limited,
the first President of BGMEA, AM Subid Ali of Aristocrat Limited also came
forward and established some of the first garment factories in Bangladesh.
(Source: BGMEA)
Following their footsteps, other prudent and hardworking entrepreneurs started
RMG factories in the country. Since then, Bangladeshi garment industry did not
need to look behind. Despite many difficulties faced by the sector over the past
years, it has carved a niche in world market and kept continuing to show robust
performance.
Since the early days, different sources of impetus have contributed to the
development and maturity of the industry at various stages. We learned about
child-labor in 1994, and successfully made the industry free from child labor in
1995.
The MFA-quota was a blessing to our industry to take root, gradually develop
and mature. While the quota was approaching to an end in 2004, it was predicted
by many that the phase-out would incur a massive upset in our export.
However, the post-MFA era is another story of success. Proving all the
predictions wrong, we conquered the post-MFA challenges. Now the apparel
industry is Bangladesh’s biggest export earner with value of over $25.49bn of
exports in 2014-15 financial year.
On its way to success the RMG industry faced a number of challenges. The
biggest challenge for our apparel industry has emerged after the tragic building
collapse in 2013. Many thought the building collapse would mark the end of the
journey of our RMG industry. But what we have seen is the new beginning of our
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garment industry. For the first time in the history of global garment industry, all
stakeholders have realized that ensuring safety and wellbeing workers is a shared
responsibility and this feeling has inspired governments, brands, buyers,
suppliers, entrepreneurs, and workers to work hand in hand to ensure a safe and
sustainable garment industry. Probably this only instance in the world business
that brands and buyers who compete each other come together to make an
industry safe and sustainable.
The industry that has changed lives of millions of people has undergone
significant transformation in terms of workplace safety and worker's rights.
National and international reform platforms -National Action Plan (NAP),
Accord and Alliance- have made visible progress to ensure workplace safety.
Both Accord and Alliance have completed inspection in 100% factories and the
NAP will complete 100% factory inspection by this August. We note with
satisfaction that less than 2% of the inspected factories have been found
vulnerable and closed down immediately. Moreover, to make our progress more
transparent and credible, the inspection reports of the factories are made
accessible at the Fair Factory Clearinghouse (FFC) database and the websites of
the relevant government department, Accord and Alliance. When all factories
complete their corrective action plans (CAPs), the RMG industry of Bangladesh
can obviously be regarded as the safest industry in the world.
Progress has also been made in workers' rights. Minimum wages of RMG
workers have been increased by 219% during the past 5 years. The Labor Law
has been amended ensuring noticeable improvements in workers' rights and
welfare. BGMEA along with ILO and ITC are implementing training programs
on worker-management relations, Occupational Safety and Health, and labor
laws for both factory management and workers.
The industry is making strides in terms of environmental compliance to have a
sustainable footing in the global apparel market. Many RMG factories at their
own are adopting green technologies and practices. They are using cleaner
technologies and producing garments in a caring and responsible way that
preserves the environment for future generations. Already a number of RMG
factories achieved LEED certification from US Green Building Council
(USGBC) for their green practices.
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The Milestones of the RMG Industry:
Year Milestone
1995 Realistic Solution of child labor issue with ILO, UNICEF & US
Embassy
2005 Phase out of MFA Quota
2009 Successfully faced Global Recession
2010 Ranked as the 2nd Largest Exporting Country
2013 Ensuring workplace safety
Source: BGMEA,2018
In Garment Sector is the largest employer of women in Bangladesh. The garment
sector has provided employment opportunities to women from the rural areas that
previously did not have any opportunity to be part of the formal workforce. This
has given women the chance to be financially independent and have a voice in
the family because now they contribute financially.
However, the women workers are facing many problems. Most women come
from low income families. Low wage of women workers and their compliancy
have enabled the industry to compete with the world market. Women are paid far
less than men mainly due to their lack education. Women are reluctant to unionize
because factory owners threaten to fire them. Even though trade unionization is
banned inside the Export processing Zones (EPZ), the working environment is
better than that of the majority of garment factories that operate outside the EPZs.
But, pressure from buyers to abide by labor codes has enabled factories to
maintain satisfactory working conditions.
Participation in gainful employment has empowered some 1.2 million working
girls/women economically. They support their family financially. Some of them
send their little brother or sister to school. By spending their small income, they
create demand for other products that creates multiplier effect on employment
and income.
The RMG industry has substantially contribute to alleviation of poverty of the
group concerned. The members of these families can now buy better food, better
clothing, better medical service and enjoy a better life. Before such employment,
these members were below the internationally recognized poverty line. Now most
of them are perhaps above that line.
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The findings of the research titled “Manufacturing Growth and the Lives of
Bangladeshi Women” suggest that girls exposed to the garment sector are more
likely to delay marriage and childbirth. This is partly because the arrival of
garment jobs - which reward literacy and numeracy - are more likely to lead to
young girls being enrolled in school; while for older girls there is a greater chance
of being employed outside the home in villages close to garment factories.
The study also reveals that the demand for education generated through
manufacturing growth appears to have a much larger effect on female educational
attainment compared to a large-scale government conditional cash transfer
program to encourage female schooling. The RMG sector in Bangladesh was
virtually non-existent in 1980s, but has grown an average of 17% per year since
inception, and now blessing of this industry.
The role the RMG industry has been playing in transforming the lives of millions
of women in Bangladesh has been reflected in a study jointly conducted by
Rachel Heath, University of Washington and A. Mushfiq Mobarak, Yale School
of Management. The study of The National Bureau of Economic Research in the
US says that the arrival of garment factories has positively affected school
enrollment, employment, marriage, and childbearing decisions for Bangladeshi
women. With the help of the RMG industry many women have escaped the
entrapment of accounts for over 80% of Bangladesh’s total export earnings. The
industry currently employs almost 4.4 million workers in Bangladesh and was the
first to provide employment opportunities to women in large-scale in a country
where women traditionally have not worked outside their home. In addition to
raising the opportunity cost of being married and having children, attractive
manufacturing jobs require basic literacy and numeracy. Thus, women have felt
the need for literacy.
The RMG industry has helped put more young girls in school than ever before.
According to an August 2012 study by Rachel and Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, 27
percent more young girls were going to school than before the garment industry
existed in Bangladesh. The garment industry has paved way for our women and
girls to come out of poverty and illiteracy
Women who are exposed to the prospects of working in the RMG sector have a
changed perception about marriage and childbearing. They see how marriage is
not their only ticket out of misery. They can work and support themselves. They
can earn an honest living without others’ help. And as a chain reaction there is a
fall in the number of teen pregnancies in Bangladesh.
Fertility has dropped from 5.9 children per woman in 1983 to 2.3 births per
woman in 2009 (World Development Indicators), and woman’s average age at
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marriage has risen from 14.6 for marriages between 1980 and 1985 to 17.0 for
marriages between 2005 and 2009 (Demographic and Health Survey).
These statistics show to what extent the startup of the RMG sector in this country
has helped build the nation. Delayed marriages lead to a fall in the dropout rates
of girls. Girls tend to stay in school longer attaining a higher education that is
required of them. That also helps them to get better understanding of the world.
A good education opens up several windows of opportunities or them. They can
venture out into the working platform with some hope. Parents have now been
seen encouraging their daughters to learn how to read and write. If they are able
to earn a living, they are most likely to support their parents and that is a good
hope for the parents.
BGMEA hopes that appreciation of the role of the sector will enable policy
makers to undertake further initiatives in order to enable the sector to achieve yet
greater heights to the benefit of the country and its people.
1.1 Statement of the Problems
The readymade garments industry acts as a catalyst for the development of
Bangladesh. The "Made in Bangladesh" tag has also brought glory for the
country, making it a prestigious brand across the globe. Bangladesh, which was
once termed by cynics a "bottomless basket" has now become a "basket full of
wonders." The country with its limited resources has been maintaining 6% annual
average GDP growth rate and has brought about remarkable social and human
development.
After the independence in 1971, Bangladesh was one of poorest countries in the
world. No major industries were developed in Bangladesh, when it was known
as East Pakistan, due to discriminatory attitude and policies of the government of
the then West Pakistan. So, rebuilding the war-ravaged country with limited
resources appeared to be the biggest challenge.
The industry that has been making crucial contribution to rebuilding the country
and its economy is none other than the readymade garment (RMG) industry
which is now the single biggest export earner for Bangladesh. The sector accounts
for 81% of total export earnings of the country. At present nearly 4 million
workers are employed in 4560 RMG factories in Bangladesh and 80% of them
are females (BGMEA, 2018).
‘Behind every successful man there is a woman’. This may be a true saying;
however, do we ever stop to think who stands behind these women in Bangladesh.
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Who supports them, holds their hand during hardships and lends them a shoulder
to cry. It is Bangladesh’s massive readymade garment (RMG) sector that has
played a crucial role in helping millions of women to come out of their houses
and earn a living for themselves. The independence they achieved through their
careers is motivational for women all over the world. These working women have
stepped out of the poverty zone with blessing of this industry. This has given
women the chance to be financially independent and have a voice in the family
because now they contribute financially. Some of them send their little brother or
sister to school. By spending their small income, they create demand for other
products that creates multiplier effect on employment and income.
The role the RMG industry has been playing in transforming the lives of millions
of women in Bangladesh. (Tamanna, M. (2014, Sep-Oct). Emergence of garment
positively impacts on school enrollment, employment and marriage for
Bangladeshi women: Study. THE APPAREL STORY, pp. 34-35.)
The RMG industry has substantially contribute to alleviation of poverty of the
group concerned. The members of these families can now buy better food, better
clothing, and better medical service and enjoy a better life. Before such
employment, these members were below the internationally recognized poverty
line. Now most of them are perhaps above that line.
Readymade garments are a finished product used by the consumers as a form of
attire. Large scale production of Ready-made Garments in organized factories is
a relatively new phenomenon in Bangladesh Until early sixties individual tailors
made garments for the domestic markets The domestic markets for readymade
garments were virtually nonexistent in Bangladesh until early sixties. But now a
day with gradual economic and social transformations, service of individual
tailors are being replaced by the departmental stores that sell readymade garments
produced in factories The RMG industry has achieved phenomenal growth in
Bangladesh during last two decades. Its growth has had tremendous effect on its
economic and social conditions.
Around Bangladesh, it is women and girls who are disproportionately affected by
poverty and discrimination. Often, women and girls are not allowed to make
decisions about their household's income, or tradition and culture forbid them to
leave their homes. In other words, half of the population cannot contribute to their
families and communities economic development. A great resource goes
untapped. But women are an important part of the solutions needed to truly
overcome poverty. They play a key role in navigating their family and their
community to a better life.
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The Study showed that when equipped with the proper resources, women have
the power to help their families and entire communities escape poverty. When
women earn an income, they reinvest 90 percent of it in their families while for
every year a girl spends in school she raises her family income by up to 20
percent. Additionally, educated girls grow into educated women, who have
healthier babies and are more likely to educate their children. It's a simple
formula: empowerment is the total sum of changes needed for a woman to realize
her full human rights. Empowerment is not just about giving women training or
a loan. Empowerment is more than that. It means that relationships and social
structures that shape the lives of women and girls must change.(Source: Asian
Development Center)
Women's empowerment can only be achieved when we include men and boys.
Men are often those who define and keep women within their boundaries. But
when we engage with them they realize that their wives' empowerment benefits
the whole family. Promoting gender equality and empowering women is the key
to lifting entire families out of poverty - and it defines our programs worldwide
There are few researches conducted on empowerment of women workers but no
research conducted on “Women empowerment and poverty alleviation through
RMG industry of Bangladesh”. So, these need to conduct a research.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
The main purpose of the study will be to examine the relationship of Ready-Made
Garments sector’s contribution to women empowerment in Bangladesh.
The specific objectives of the study will be as follows: -
(i) To explore the Socio-economic profile of the selected Women
(ii) To examine the relationship between the readymade garments’ contributions
and women empowerment
(iii) To find out the readymade garments contributions which is most
significantly related to the women empowerment?
(iv) To make a rank among the readymade garments contributions on the basis
of the association with the women empowerment;
(v) Problems of Women Empowerment from Respondents
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1.3 Rationale of the Study
For the balance development of a country man and women both can play vital
role. Half of the total population is women. No socio-economic, political and
cultural development is possible without the empowerment of women. So,
identifying the hindrance of women empowerment in my research work to take
steps to solve the problems is the main purpose of my research work.
In addition to its economic contribution, the expansion of the RMG industry has
caused noticeable social and cultural changes.
• It has changed the traditional patriarchal hegemony of fathers, brothers
and husbands.
• The economic empowerment has improved the status of women/girls in
the family. They are no longer at the mercy of the male members. They
now can participate in decision making with their parents or male
counterparts in the family; even they can make major about their future
life.
• Gaining power to make decisions or gaining some freedom of choice is
the most significant achievement in the life of women in Bangladesh.
Relatively free movement of these working girls/women has changed
social attitude towards them.
• The society does no longer consider them as mere “women” who are born
only to bear and rear children.
• Working in the factories at night is not a social stigma or major risk for
young women anymore. Purdah is no longer a social compulsion.
• They can go for shopping on their own without being accompanied by
male guardians. One can find urban shopping centers crowded with
women/girls. Even 15 years ago such scene was very rare in Bangladesh.
This is a visible cultural transformation that may be attributed, at least
partially, to the growth of RMG industry.
• However, along with such improvement in social dimensions, some
negative impacts are reported. It is alleged that there are cases where
relations between husband and wife, father and daughter, etc. have been
strained because working women/girls mix freely with men while
working in the factories.
• Examples of increasing number of divorces are also cited. In some cases,
it is alleged that children have gone astray because they did not get proper
care of the mother; this happens because mother could not spend enough
time with children.
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May be, there are some truth in these allegations. But most experts believe that
the net effect is positive and on the whole, the contribution of RMG industry is
highly visible. Many of these girls/women have achieved the status of supervisors
and managers replacing their male counterparts. A good number of them work as
top executives. This has led to a salutary social transformation.
By studying these changes, we can understand that society could be transformed
or transmitted greatly by the RMG sector.
1.4 Structure of the Study
To highlight the main issues, the research project report will be divided into the
following Chapters:
Chapter One: Introduction
This chapter will cover the statement of the problem, objectives, scope,
limitations, and structure of the study.
Chapter Two: Review of Related Literature
The other researcher’s contributions measure the performance of a women
empowerment of rmg sector a whole will be reviewed in this chapter.
Chapter Three: An Overview of the Organization
This chapter will be covering the selected garment industry background
information & empowerment of female garments worker
Chapter Four: Methodology of the Study
This chapter will discuss the design of the study, types and sources of data,
sampling, data collection procedure, data processing and statistical analysis.
Chapter Five: Results and Analyses
This chapter will be analyzed the collected secondary data and discussion will be
made. This chapter will be examined Female workers in decision making
position, social empowerment & economic empowerment.
Chapter Six: Conclusions and Recommendations
The last chapter will summarize the major findings, draw conclusions based on
the findings and make some recommendations for how to increase women
empowerment & reduce poverty Alleviation through RMG sector of Bangladesh