Strengthening women and creating structures in India and Bangladesh The textile production and supply chain is complex. Therefore, one-sided concepts against violence in the workplace fall short. A core element of our work on the ground is therefore the systematic establishment of dialogue structures between politicians, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), trade unions and textile companies, so that the actors jointly and specifically combat gender-based violence in the textile factories. Through continuous exchange of experience and learning processes, sustainable improvements in working conditions are achieved. Breaking silence – at all levels Violence against girls and women is a taboo topic - especially when it comes to sexualised violence in the workplace. This is true worldwide, but it is all the more dramatic in countries such as India and Bangladesh, where works councils and trade unions are hardly set up and only against great resistance from management. The problems remain invisible - hidden or repressed. That is why we support our partner organisations in breaking the silence in the producing countries and putting the situation of women on the social agenda through advocacy and campaigning.
© FEMNET India: Training in factories, promoting civil society, anchoring structures In India, unlike Bangladesh, there are legal requirements to set up complaint boards in the factories, but they are poorly implemented. In particular, we are working to change this in the spinning mills of South India, which are characterised by particularly serious forms of violence against young women and girls. To this end, we support our partner organisation SAVE through the FEMNET project #GegenGewalt and within the framework of the ‘Tamil Nadu Alliance Initiative’ of the Textile Alliance. Read more …
© FEMNET Bangladesh: Empowering women, creating contact points and laws Our partner organization BCWS works consistently towards the establishment of factory committees as contact points for women, so that the workers can discuss experiences of violence in dialogue with each other and with the management. They must also have clear responsibilities to remedy the situation. They are informed about their rights and supported in the organization of their interests in the sense of help for self-help. Read more …
