Hear from Partner Company’s Workers Experience

—————— Hasna Heena Mahmud

The Annapurna Project has been set up to provide much-needed support to the RMG workers of Bangladesh. Funded by the Auchan Foundation and implemented by the Association for Community Empowerment (ACE), the project has established a Fair Price Shop in Romo Fashion Today Ltd., and a second one will soon be open in TeenAge Modern Fashion Ltd. This project is an important step in giving the workers in these factories access to essential goods and services at a fair price. On the occasion of the opening of the first Fair Price Shop, the ACE and Auchan teams met with the workers of the factory to learn of their experiences.The importance of access to affordable, reliable hygiene products cannot be overstated. For many women and girls, lack of access to feminine hygiene products can lead to being unable to attend work and can even lead to serious health complications. It is therefore a great relief when a Fair Price shop opens the factory’s doors to provide access to these products and more.Shaarmin Akter and another worker have benefited from the opening of a Fair Price Shop in their working factory. They have been able to purchase necessary products at a reduced cost, and Shaarmin is especially pleased to have access to sanitary pads without feeling embarrassed or judged.Shaarmin Akter shared her experience of FPS by saying, “Usually when we go to the public cosmetics shops for purchasing, other male customers used to be there beside me. So I couldn’t speak loudly and clearly about buying sanitary pads. Sometimes they laugh at hearing about pads and say different things. But now we can buy pads easily from this shop. Nobody disturbs us here.”Another worker, Lucky Akter, said, “In this shop, I can get products for 5 to 10 taka less compared to the marketplace.”