Human rights become fashionable when we

strengthen the rights of local people;

shopping more consciously and fairly,

business and politics,
Take responsibility!

Good day,

Fashion for us is mass-produced goods for which we pay dumping prices. Fashion is also an expression of our individuality, a ‘style’ for which we spend a lot of money. In both cases, the human rights of workers in the textile factories of the producing countries often fall by the wayside. The T-shirt for 2 euros and the noble brand suit for 500 euros are usually manufactured in the same factory by the same seamstress under the toughest conditions. She works up to 100 hours a week under health hazards and discrimination for a few cents an hour. She worked for a life in poverty.

Many of these people, mostly women and girls, no longer want to be victims. They fight to be taken seriously by their employers and by us, the customers. FEMNET e.V. stands by these women and supports them with emergency aid, legal assistance and advice. After the Rana Plaza disaster, FEMNET, along with others, fought for compensation for the victims. We inform end consumers about grievances and causes with campaigns, we do educational work for students at universities, we create effective pressure on the textile companies and we work on solutions in the steering committee of the textile alliance of Minister Gerd Müller.

Please support our work with your donation!
The seamstresses need your help!

Donate online via the donation button or by bank transfer:
GLS Bank, account number 300 800 800, BLZ 430 60 967,
Keyword: ‘For human rights in textile production’.

Our work is recognized as charitable, your donation is deductible from the tax.

Thank you very much!

by Gisela Burckhardt
Chairman of the Board FEMNET e.V.

Millions of women and girls in textile production remain nameless and invisible to us behind our ‘beautiful’ fashion world. At the heart of our work for their rights is the support of local women's rights organisations and trade unions that help workers protect themselves, organise themselves and provide them with legal assistance. In Bangladesh, for example, we cooperate with the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF). In India, we support the women's rights organization and trade union Munnade, as well as Cividep, a non-profit NGO for labour and human rights. It is women like Nurun, Tania or Daliya from Bangladesh who from childhood know no life but work in textile factories. When they rebelled against it, they were intimidated, threatened and physically attacked. Nevertheless, they finally prevailed:

Nurun Nahar (45) He grew up without a father with his mother and two sisters. After four years, the family could no longer afford the school. At the age of 12, she began working in a textile factory. She worked for many years in changing factories, but also fought there for her and her colleagues' rights. Since 2013, Nurun has been the vice-president of the trade union organization NGWF. She is unmarried and shares four rooms with 12 people. She now works only for the union.

Tania Akter (24) As the youngest of six children, he had to finish school after four years in order to work for the family's livelihood. She founded a trade union in 2013 and, as its secretary-general, won the right to collective bargaining (CBA), wage increases and much more. In the end, she proved that thanks to the motivation of the employees, the productivity of the factory increased.

Dalyia Shikdur (21) He grew up with his grandparents. At the age of eight she started making money with embroidery and at the age of 11 she worked in the factory. Since she was so young, she was hidden or sent home when the buyers of Western clients came. Since then, she has worked in 11 factories. She didn't want to live like that and fought for her labor rights. About three years ago, she founded a trade union. Despite being threatened and attacked, she enforced the registration and is now its president.

These examples give us courage.
Your donation makes it possible for us to continue to support women like this in the future and to finance our projects.
We already thank you for this.

Disclaimer

FEMNET e.V.
Feminist Perspectives on Politics, Economy and Society
Kaiser-Friedrich-Str. 11
53113 Bonn
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel. 0228 18038116

Board of Directors: Dr. Gisela Burckhardt, Vanessa Püllen, Andrea Lindner, Franziska Gorgas, Christiane Kühnrich

Editorial and responsible within the meaning of § 5 TMG: Dr. Gisela Burckhardt
Disclaimer: Despite careful content control, we assume no liability.
File number VR 9568B at the District Court of Bonn.