Two-thirds of women RMG workers married before 18 years

Two out of every three female garment workers were married before reaching 18 years of age, and nearly 65 per cent of them had their first pregnancy before turning 18, revealed the findings of an icddr,b study on Monday.

Furthermore, about one in every three female workers experienced (as one-third of the participants reported) at least one unintended pregnancy, while one in four had an experience of abortion or menstrual regulation procedure.

icddr,b shared the study results at a seminar - "Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights among Female Garment Workers Living in Urban Slums of Bangladesh: Insights from a Longitudinal Cohort Study" - at its headquarters in the city.

The 24-month cohort study on women working in the country's ready-made garment (RMG) sector was the first study of its kind in Bangladesh. It was conducted by AdSearch, icddr,b with support from Global Affairs Canada.

The research was carried out from August 2022 to December 2024 in the areas under icddr,b's Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System, specifically in the Korail and Mirpur slums of Dhaka and the Tongi slum of Gazipur. The study was carried out through surveys conducted every six months on a total of 778 RMG workers aged 15-27 years.

Awareness of long-acting family planning methods among these women grew significantly from 49 per cent at the beginning of the study to 70 per cent at the two-year follow-up, according to the study.

Knowledge about emergency contraceptive pills or tablets also increased notably, rising from 15 per cent of women at the start to 39 per cent later on, and positive attitudes towards gender equality in family planning increased from 54 per cent to 71 cent.

Female garment workers were also victims of violence, both at home and in workplace. The rate of violence against the female workers by their husbands was very high in the last 12 months; and all forms of violence, except sexual violence, increased further over the two years.

The prevalence of psychological violence in the workplace was also notably high, rising from 48 per cent of workers at the beginning to 55 per cent after two years.

Worryingly, almost none of the women who experienced violence sought formal help.

The percentage of women who sought informal help (from family or friends) dropped sharply from 35 per cent at the beginning to only 21 per cent at the end of two years, the study revealed.

In cases of workplace violence, only one in five women reported the violence to the authorities at the beginning, and the figure remained unchanged after two years.

Among the factories where the surveyed workers were employed, only 22 per cent were found to provide sanitary pads, and only 14 per cent reported supplying family planning materials.

The presentation concluded with a panel discussion. Dr Ubaidur Rob, former director of Population Council Bangladesh, said despite being relatively advanced economically, the sexual and reproductive health status of female workers in Bangladesh's garment industry is worse than that of other women.

nsrafsanju@gmail.com