I have been watching these garment girls for the last two decades. Like any conscientious person in contemporary Bangladesh, I have deep sympathy for this hardworking, silent army of working girls who walk up to their factories at dawn and return, often very late at time. They are very conspicuous as a social group on the streets of Dhaka, Narayanganj and Chittagong. We know they are very low paid, and they receive very little respect from the mainstream community. I once wrote a poem about these BOSTROBALIKARA. I wanted to make this film with the aim to sensitize concerned people about their plight, which, in turn, may help achieve better wages and more respect for these hapless girls.
The film should work as a tool to disseminate information about the ground realities in the lives of these girls - the miserable living conditions and the awful working conditions they face. If the film can achieve any positive development in the destiny of these girls, i.e. a living wage, better working conditions, and social respect, I will be happy. The main aim is to increase their wage and enhance recognition of their hard work - the biggest contributor to our national exchequer.
Not really. The girls were very helpful. But some factory-owners refused to let us shoot inside their factories. Some evaded being interviewed. Similarly some foreign buyers or their representatives.
Of course, they are a kind of "fashion victims". The insatiable desire in the West for cheaper and cheaper clothes definitely has some bearing on the long working hours and difficult living conditions of these garments girls of Bangladesh.
Normally, I wear Punjabi, an indigenous product.But when I purchase Western clothes, like trousers or shirts, I buy from shops in New Market. Most of them are locally produced for local market.