Within the last couple of days, an RMG worker's mysterious death has sparked clashes between garment workers and the police in the city's Mirpur area. A timely solo photography exhibition addressing garment workers' basic rights ended on July 24 at Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi in Dhaka. The exhibition, titled “The Life and Struggle of Garment Workers,” by Taslima Akhter, delved into the unexplored woes of RMG workers -- both at home and at workplace.
The exhibition began on July 18. Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Chowdhury inaugurated the exhibition. Among others, economist Professor Anu Muhammad and Shahidul Alam, managing director of Drik, spoke at the opening.
The exhibition featured different aspects of the lives of garment workers, particularly women -- at work, taking part in demonstrations to raise their minimum wage and at home.
Taslima, who is studying photography at Pathshala at present, took her camera to Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur to document her subjects.
A series of the photographs, on display at the exhibition, feature movements for better wages. The photos frame pitched battles between workers and law enforcers on the streets. One photo shows enraged workers of a factory taking to the street, while neighbouring factory owners forcibly restraining their workers, apprehensive that they would join the protestors.
The image can be linked to the misery at the workers' homes. One of Taslima's photos shows the cramped quarters of a worker where 10-12 family members are squeezed into a single room because they cannot afford a bigger place.
Bliss does enter their lives but are ephemeral. Sometimes a well-placed framed photograph in a living room turns into memory. Images of tear gas shells, coloured water from water cannons and abandoned sandals of the demonstrators remain as silent witnesses to brutality.
The exhibition featured 20 photographs. Although the photos were taken between 2008 and 2010, Taslima informed that she started working on the project in 2007.
As a politically aware individual and a women's rights activist, Taslima is deeply concerned about the plight of female RMG workers. Armed with her camera, she carries on her battle to ensure the rights of these women.
Source: thedailystar.net
