Labor activist Nazma Akter began working in a garment factory in 1986, when she was 11 years old – in a factory where her mother, Razia Begum, had worked. By 1989, mother and daughter were working at Comtrade, a readymade garment (RMG) factory of the Beximco Group and one of the factories where the Bangladesh RMG labor movement got its start. Nazma Akter and Razia Begum discuss their experiences working together in the garment industry. Interview by Marianne Scholte, Dhaka,19 September 2014
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| Razia Begum |
Razia Begum: I was born in 1959 in Shariatpur district in
the Greater Faridpur region, but I came to Dhaka with my parents when I was
three or four.
Scholte: Did you go to school?
Razia Begum: Yes, I had five years of schooling. But then I
was married at 13 to my husband, Oli Mia, who was 14 years older than I was.
Scholte: That must have been frightening when you were so young.
Razia Begum: Yes, I was very scared. It took me five years
until I felt better.
Scholte: And you had children right away?
Razia Begum: Nazma was born when I was 15. Her sister, Shely, was born four years
later. Then came three boys. The youngest boy was born when I was 28.
Scholte: And then at one point you went to work in a garment factory, right? What
was that like?
Razia Begum: Yes, in 1983, when I was 24 or 25, I went to work at Sam’s Garments in
Shantinogo. It was after the second boy was born. My husband was a vegetable
seller and we needed the money. I worked there for nearly a year as a helper
and earned 250 taka a month. We worked from 8 am to 8 pm or 10 pm. A year later,
I became a sewing machine operator at Rational Garments Ltd. in Malibagh, where
I earned 600 taka a month. I stayed there for two-three years. Then I left to
have another baby. In 1988, I went back to work at Comtrade Apparels Beximco, where
I earned 800 taka a month at the beginning.
