garment workers

"When there is an inspection, staff put water and fans in the factory, but they are taken away after a few days." ~Lita

"When I made a mistake, my line manager stabbed me in the thigh with his pencil until it bled. I slapped him to defend myself, so they fired me. I got a new job doing other piece-rate work. They told me, 'If you start a relationship with me, I will overlook your mistakes.' I feel humiliated, I feel ashamed to be a woman. I have no choice. I was denied work with larger fashion factories because I publicly reported harassment and was blacklisted from larger factories. Why are women not looked at the same way as men?" ~Seema

"There are 300-400 people that work there. About half of the workers are 14 years old or younger." ~Jahanara (center) 
​"Almost all of the teenage garment workers I met were working overtime like adults, which is not allowed." ~ Safia Minney (author)

"I heard stories about the 'near escapes' of children and young people and how the poverty around the village was so great that everyone knew of someone who had 'gone missing'. Traffickers and criminal gangs would scour the villages for the most vulnerable." ~Safia Minney (author)

"Children are often 'employed' at the very bottom of the supply chain, where they are untraceable and invisible." ~Safia Minney (author)

"I have diabetes. I really need a five-minute tea break twice a day. I arrive at the factory at 7:55am and lunch is at 1:30pm. So if I could eat something like a biscuit or fruit and drink a little water at 10am that would really help my body. Another five-minute break at 5pm, as I only finish work at 8pm, would make all the difference to me. It's inhumane to work for such long hours. Customers do not know how hard we work and how the management treat us and how low our wages are. Please tell them!" ~Latifa (left)

​From Slave to Fashion by Safia Minney.