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RIGHT AT WORK-II

Slaying the nine-headed dragon

A BBC documentary
The BBC Bengali Section has started broadcasting a special series of radio programmes on the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. These principles are: freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, freedom from discrimination, child labour and forced labour. Each Thursday, the BBC is focusing on one of these principles as well as portraying the present reality through 'a day in the life' of a worker. This is the second instalment in the series written and produced by Masud Hasan Khan
IN the room, the temperature soared, just as it did outside. August is the cruellest month for Bangladesh. Nazma Akhter, a trade union leader, was fuming down the telephone line. It was a case of unfair treatment at a certain garment factory in Dhaka. As Ms. Akhter spoke, a woman co-worker anxiously stood by, occasionally supplying information to assist in the tough negotiation with the employer's representative. Bargaining is not easy in Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry. And for a woman worker, the fight against discrimination at work is often an uphill battle.
But that is not the promise made by the country's constitution; it says, "The state shall endeavour to ensure equality of opportunity to all citizens." Furthermore, it guarantees, "the state shall adopt effective measures to remove social and economic inequality " If the struggle against workplace discrimination is yet unfinished even in the West, where does it start in Bangladesh? Well, at least we know where the unfairness begins, social researchers say. "For a migrant woman worker it starts right at the
beginning, when she moves into the city," says Rita Afsar of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies. "the first hurdle she crosses is the social stigma against working women ... why is she not staying at home, to cook and focus on rearing kids? Then comes the challenges of housing, wages, promotion and the work-life balance. Male workers usually don't have to face all of this at the same time," she says.
As in other South Asian countries, women face discrimination from within and among them, says Farida Akhter of UBINIG, a voluntary organisation working for women's rights. "Why do we have to use Fair and Lovely cream to be accepted in the office?" she says,
"the job advertisements use terms like 'presentable woman.' Ms. Akhter says these are all hidden mechanisms to discriminate against working women. "If you're not 'presentable', meaning beautiful, you have no chance," she adds.
Discrimination in Bangladesh's workplaces is more like a dragon with nine heads, campaigners say. Some of the heads belch out smoke through the nose -- only that is visible -- while the others are hidden. Many offices these days prefer to recruit unmarried women to avoid obligatory maternity leave payments. People whisper about employees of certain faiths facing difficulties over promotions, pay and perks, says trade union leader Shirin Akhter. On the surface, peo-
ple's perception of discrimination only makes small ripples while the current below the surface conceals all the anger, pain and frustration.
Farida Akhter shares an experience: "The other day, one of our colleagues rang a certain government office and left a message. When the person called back, he mentioned that a Hindu employee from our office had rung. I'm sure this person wouldn't have mentioned the religion, had the caller been a Muslim." Ms. Akhter says that such notions are prevalent mainly in the urban areas and it is completely against the country's rural culture which enjoys a long tradition of religious tolerance. "If you look around any office, you won't fail to notice a network based on which district you come from or which dialect you speak," says Rita Afsar, "It's a patron-client relationship, often active at the subconscious level in the interest of favour and protection." However, Iftekharul Alam, President of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation, says it would be unwise to judge
people's choice for one particular dialect or region over others. People do not discriminate collectively, he argues.
But, campaigners argue, for those discriminated against, does it matter if their experience is personal or collective? How did Mr. A.S.M. Zafrullah, a wheel chair user from the Mohammadpur area of Dhaka, feel when he was told that he would not get a civil service job because of his disability? How do the Garo, the Chakma, or the other members of the ethnic minority community feel when they give up their mother tongue to study and work in a language used by the majority Bengali population? We don't really know. "We are not in a position to overlook all these allegations of discrimination," says Khurshid Jahan Huq, Minister for Women and Children Affairs, "We recognise there are certain problems and the discrimination issue is being looked at holistically. The existing laws are also being enforced, if not often with their full might." She particularly emphasised that the government was committed to all of its international commitments. "We are slow but we are moving ahead."
Masud Hasan Khan is a producer, BBC World Service.
The BBC Bengali Section will broadcast its next episode on August 21, an abridged version of which will be published on this page on August 22.