ABSTRACT
Women did not play a significant role in Bangladeshi labour organizations until the 1980s, not least because women were seldom allowed to engage in paid work outside the home due to patriarchal, social and religious values. The subsequent emergence of the garment industry has made it possible for women to become involved in the labour market by reducing restrictions on their access to the public sphere. Since the 1980s, the garment industry has played the central role in Bangladesh’s export sector and has become a major source of foreign exchange. It currently exports about five billion dollars’ worth of products each year and directly employs 1.8 million workers, of whom 80 per cent are women (Hoque 2004). The industry provided Bangladeshi women with their first opportunity to become active trade union members.
