https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1 By Chinyere Okpalugo and Dora Asomani en-us 2018-03-31 19:42:59 UTC 2023-05-30 02:43:02 UTC hello@padlet.com phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247623989 A cheaper and affordable alternative? Or brutal exploitation and abuse of human rights?]]> 2018-03-31 19:58:32 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247623989 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247626830 Youth and young children are tempted or coerced to work in illegal sweatshops in order to assist their parents financially just so they can enjoy the basic human rights that we all enjoy such as food, shelter and clothing. 

We purchase clothes and other items without knowing where they come from, and some of them are made by child labourers. This is child slavery and a major social concern. In countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia or Vietnam children continue to work in dirty, demeaning and dangerous conditions for textile, or footwear companies. This robs them of the chance to get educated or go to school, and challenges them physically, mentally and psychologically.

This has to stop.

Majority of the children working in sweatshops are girls and their primary purpose for this sacrifice is to assist their parents. However the question is, why are female offspring subject to this form of modern slavery? 

Women with children face extreme economic conditions, and the activities of males are often valued over those of females. So, it is not entirely surprising to find daughters working in sweatshops, rather than the sons. However, it is still gender inequality and a social concern.


]]> 2018-03-31 20:44:09 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247626830 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247630193 2018-03-31 21:52:30 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247630193 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247634531 The use of sweatshops goes beyond famous North America companies. It is used globally by many countries. 

In Bangladesh, a five-story building called the Rana Plaza, collapsed due to the poor infrastructure. Thousands of lives were lost and thousands more were injured. 

This plaza produced garments for many street known brands all over the world, including Benetton in Italy, Bon Marche in the United Kingdom, The Children's Place in the United Stated, Joe Fresh in Canada, Primark in Ireland, Texmax in Denmark and many more (Roeland, 2017. 

This factory included banks, apartments and garment factories. Cracks in the building were reported on many occasions and no legal action was taken to shut down this plaza, or repair it.

The Plaza was owned by Sohel Rana who was a member of the political party in power in Bangladesh. The head of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense, by the name Ali Khan, claimed that the upper floor of the plaza was illegally built because it had no permit. It was not designed for heavy machinery, and this contributed in its collapse (Roeland, 2017 

Workers were threatened to come to work, or recieve no monthly pay if they refused. 

The owner of this plaza, Rana, symbolizes the political and legal power that men have that can lead to gender inequality. This unequal share of power, where men make up majority of the lawmakers, tend to overlook issues that compromise the safety of women. Majority of people who worked in the sweatshop were women, so it is no surprise that Sohel Rana, who did not only have the business power but the legal power as well to discontinue this plaza, proceeded to endangering the lives of thousand and even caused the death of many.

The lack of female representation in the legal system, can be very brutal in a situations like this, because there is no one looking out for their interests of their lives.]]> 2018-04-01 00:09:00 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247634531 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247634807 "We do not see ourselves as feminists, we see ourselves as trapped."

This is a quote by one of the women, who created many of the t-shirts used in a campaign that was organized by ELLE magazine. Many celebrities were seen wearing this t-shirt, because "it is a symbol of feminism (Ellery, 2014).

However, the women who make these shirts, work 45 hours a week, and sleep in a room of sixteen. So how can this be a symbol of feminism?

It would be expected that the people behind this will be white men, who live in the western world. Instead the company that distributed these t-shirts known as Whistles was bought by the Moschini Group which is an African based company owned and managed by African men.

This goes to show that Sweatshop Productions is a worldwide phenomenon. Not only the western world participates in this, it is a global problem. 

This particular example of sweatshop productions shows proof of women's lower status that their male counterparts. The greater economic power on men, increases the dependence of women on men, which is the reason these women are working extra hours in despicable conditions, just to survive.

Women lack economic power and this is directly correlated to their presence in the ranks of the poor. Hence, they occupy lower wage jobs in many parts of the world. "Poverty is said to have a woman's face." Poverty is associated with women, and is expressed in the gender wage gap between men and women, a phenomenon described as the "feminization of poverty."(Burns, 19 pg. 19).

]]> 2018-04-01 00:21:27 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247634807 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247634922 A picture is worth a thousand words, however there are no words to describe the irony, hypocrisy, and social injustice that women face in sweatshops.

According to "The Women's Crusade" by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, in East Asia, many women made money in jobs with long hours similar to the hours of sweatshops and sent their income back home to support their family. In other words they were seen as the breadwinners of their family. (Kristof & WuDunn, 2009).

As uncommon as this may sound, this made women in this region feel empowered because of the social changes that accompany the ability to make an income. However, Westerners viewed this an an exploitation strategy(Kristof & WuDunn 

Women who work in sweatshops can earn as little as sixteen cents an hour an hour, in countries located in Asia, Africa and Central America, where most of the sweatshops are found (Roeland, 2017). While they are living in poverty and inhumane conditions, in the Western world, we purchase these products of unethical exploitation and are gladdened by the cheap prices without knowing that the women and children who produce them earn 1.2% of what we paid. 

]]> 2018-04-01 00:25:20 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247634922 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247691992 Nike is a very popular sporting company that manufactures a range of products from clothes, shoes and soccer. They are famous for their sweaters, sweatpants and most importantly sweatshops.

With over 700 stores around the world, most of the factories that produce Nike equipment are in Asia, in countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Vietnam,  and Taiwan (Daily Mail, 2011). 

Nike has been the center of many anti-sweatshop campaigns, and yet there has been very little change in the ethics in which they manufacture their products. 

The owners of Nike, Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, are no doubt the most influential individuals in the company. However, even aware of the statistics that show that 90 percent of women work in sweatshops, they have made no effort to change this.

This is evidence of men's higher status in society. Men enjoy a higher social status than women (Burns, 2019). This is the reason these corporate companies are made on the backs and suffering of women. 

According to the UN, despite education, women find themselves in low-status, less-valued jobs, like working in sweatshops.

]]> 2018-04-01 19:28:16 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247691992 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247870288 The abuse of women in sweatshops seems to be in the job description. However, the low-income, and brutal hours are not the only form of abuse that women face in sweatshops. 

They face physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, but the most troubling is the forceful use of birth control.

In various sweatshops, especially in Bangladesh, women who get pregnant are fired, and to ensure constant productivity, women are forced to take birth control. The companies also do not want to pay these women maternity leaves, and any other benefits that come with motherhood. So not only are they denied the joy of motherhood, but they have to make this sacrifice for low-income, and also face abuse including sexual abuse. 

With these jobs in sweatshop production, the women working long hours, for very little pay are victim of abuse, this also increases women's economic dependence on men, especially when it makes it difficult to find employment in a more benefiting environment. 

The dangers in the workplace, lack of security, sexual, physical and emotional abuse, compromised safety are just some forms of abuse that women who work in sweatshops face everyday.

]]> 2018-04-02 17:04:29 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247870288 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247875837 There have been several protests against sweatshops, particularly against Nike sweatshops.

After many attempts to clean up their act, the company fell back into old habits and stirred up several campaigns all over the world. The image below, are women who were victims of sweatshops taking a stand against Nike. However, they are not the only people protesting (Bain, 2017).

Around the globe, various European, African and North American countries have joined in the protest of Nike's use of sweatshops (Daily Mail, 2011). 

However, the movement is shifting to a Women Rights and Feminist movement. This movement is feminist in nature because up to 90 percent of the employees at sweatshops are female. 

These companies take advantage of female laborers, to increase their profit margin (feminist.org). Women are subject to this modern form of slavery, because their low status in society does not create opportunities for them to have high-income jobs.

In addition, their dependence on men, and the employees which are predominantly men, makes it easier for them to sustain and tolerate abuse in sweatshops. 

The issue of sweatshops goes beyond monetary value, but it is also about how poor women and children are forced to fight for their lives everyday, in disastrous working conditions just to survive. ]]> 2018-04-02 17:21:49 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247875837 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247877032 In this Norwegian video series, a group of young adults travel to Cambodia to witness first-hand, the living conditions of people who work in sweatshops.

This  emotional experience was documented in an award winning series titled Deadly Fashion. 

While watching the video, we see one of the Norwegians crying because she heard a story of the Cambodian girl, whose mother died of starvation. She exclaims, "Why can people live like this?" 

While they might not have to stay in Cambodia for the rest of their lives, the little experience that they gained from witnessing and living these victims lives, was enough to bring them to tears. 

This exploitation of women and children in developing countries, by corporate companies, needs to be curtailed. Women suffer economically, and are subject to lower status in society. They have to work dead-ends, low-income jobs to provide for themselves and their families, while the men who run these corporate companies, make money off them.]]> 2018-04-02 17:25:41 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247877032 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247879827 In every country in the world, the garment sector is the worst paid industry and there is also evidence of gendered division of labour in this industry.

The estimate of how much women make in the workplace is difficult to obtain, however official statistics show that there is a pay gap between males and females of around 18% to 27% (Roeland, 2017).

This gender wage gap in women can have many reasons. It can be because of the higher status that men, which can be expressed in job prestige. Also, the lower status women have, do not enable them to enjoy higher social status or higher economic status.The value of males in society is also a hindrance to to gender equality in the workplace. 

A woman, especially one who works in a sweatshop, should have to earn less that their male counterparts, in addition to the abuse that they face everyday at work. 

This social injustice is a serious cause for concern.


]]> 2018-04-02 17:32:51 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247879827 phylchi https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247882092 2018-04-02 17:39:30 UTC https://padlet.com/phylchi/h9qwbrz7yeo1/wish/247882092