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Anju’s story

“Everyone wants their children to have a bright future. If my daughters have a better education here, maybe they will have a good job, and they would have a brighter future.”

In Anju’s home village, there was no work for women and she had to leave school early, missing out on an education.

Like the millions of women working in factories for international brands, Anju is paid poverty wages.

She says: “I share my room with two other garment workers… three people in one room… We don’t have a bed, I sleep on the floor.”

Anju holds her daily wage. She is paid only 37 cents [in 2018] an hour to make our clothes.

Her wages are less than the minimum wage in Bangladesh – deductions are made at the factory when she gets behind on her steep target.

Her wages are less than the minimum wage in Bangladesh – deductions are made at the factory when she gets behind on her steep target.

Anju works as an operator in a garment factory, stitching the backs and fronts of sweaters together. She’s holding a sweater, just like the one she sews together.

Her pay is based on the quantity of sweaters she stitches, not the hours she works.

Some days, she’s sent home from the factory early because there’s not enough work –other days, there is too much work to do.

Anju only sees her daughters, Munia, 10 and Ginia, 8 twice per year. They live in her home village with their grandparents. Anju feels really bad that her children aren’t with her.

Anju holds her daily wage. She is paid only 37 cents [in 2018] an hour to make our clothes.

We’re all cut from the same cloth. Just like the people who buy the clothes Anju makes, we all want a brighter future for our children.

“If I had a better wage, I could have my daughters near me. I could keep them here and take them out to visit places; take them out for a day.”