State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki Tuesday stressed the need for female-friendly work environment at ready-made garments sector as they are not getting adequate facilities and supports to continue their jobs, reports BSS. “Although women workers are the lifeline of the garment sector, making major contributions, they are treated as low-paid workers,” she told a function on the occasion of launching a project titled “Promoting SRHR through Inclusive Business among female RMG workers” in a city hotel. Labour and Employment Secretary Mikail Shipur, Charge d’ affairs of Netherland Embassy to Bangladesh Martine Van Hoogstraten and Team Leader of Working with Women Project Farhteeba Rahat Khan, among others, addressed the function. Women in the garment sector are facing enormous challenges to continue their jobs, Chumki said, adding the government is taking various steps including residential facilities to minimize their challenges. “Some 44 daycares so far have been set up while the construction of one hostel for women garment is underway,” she added. Chumki described these initiatives as inadequate for the large number of garment workers and called for providing adequate facilities for women workers to boost the garment industry further. “Most women workers in the RMG sector do not have adequate knowledge on sexual health problems. So, they need to be provided adequate knowledge regarding sexual health for ensuring safe child and maternal health,” Chumki added. Ready-Made Garments (RMG) sector has emerged as the biggest earner of foreign currency. There are nearly 4 million workers in the Bangladeshi garment industry, of whom, 80 percent are women.
