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Bangladesh Garment Workers Fighting for Pay Face Brutal Violence and Threats

Negotiations over a new minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh have sparked mass demonstrations on streets across the capital.
Activists from garment worker unions protested in front of Bangladesh’s Minimum Wage Board office earlier this week.
Activists from garment worker unions protested in front of Bangladesh’s Minimum Wage Board office. (Getty Images)

When Masuma Akhtar arrived at the garment factory where she works on the outskirts of Dhaka on Oct. 31, she was expecting a normal shift. Instead, she was met with brute violence. “The moment I walked through the factory gates, a group of armed men began beating me with wooden sticks,” says Akhtar. “I fell down on to the ground. Even then they wouldn’t stop beating me.”

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