WOW FILM FESTIVAL: MADE IN BANGLADESH | REVIEW
Dir: Rubaiyat Hossain (2019, 95 mins)
Who doesn’t love a bargain? And unless you’re rich and want to pay £200 for a simple t-shirt, H&M, Primark and others will do just fine, even if it won’t last too many washes. What to do? Boycott cheap(er) clothing and many jobs disappear in countries like Bangladesh and in Asia; keeping the supply going, you’re contributing to slave wages and make it near-impossible for unionised companies to operate there and especially in the west. Conditions in these workplaces are dangerously unsafe, often fatally so. Writer-director Rubaiyat Hossain shows what it’s like for females employed in these sweatshops: they make up the majority because they’re easier to push around and humiliate by the male bosses and managers.
Shimu (Rikita Nandini Shimu) is a bold and persistent 23-year-old who escaped from an impending arranged marriage to a middle-aged man when she was a teen. Living in Dhaka, she has a husband of her own choosing and a job that’s a step up from working as a domestic, though by not much – she sews over 1,600 shirts a day for a pittance. Sohel (Mostafa Monwar) is a layabout, happy to let his wife be the sole breadwinner. After a fire breaks out in the clothing factory and a co-worker dies as a result, Shimu is approached by union activist Nasima (Shahana Goswami) who wants to interview her. The film follows Shimu’s attemps to get her friends and other workers at their job unionised and beat the system of sexist, corrupt employers and officials trying to stymie Shimu’s uphill battle.
Made In Bangladesh isn’t a Norma Rae ripoff (or, for that matter, similarly titled UK film Made In Dagenham, also based on real events), and isn’t just about job conditions and unions. The film does have a feelgood, sisters-are-doing-it-for-themselves mantra, and is somewhat simplistic in the message and dramatic stakes, but Hossain and co-writer Philippe Barriere show how women are kept under male thumbs, not only in the workforce but from the get-go.
The selling of child brides, violence, subservience and the insidious practice of making girls and women wear hijabs under the guise of religion and modesty are woven throughout. One hurdle may be overcome, but the Shimus of this world could be shot and thrown in a river, burned to death or chopped up like meat for wanting their independence and the right to work in a safe and fair environment.
Available to watch as part of the Wales One World Film Festival until Fri 19 Mar. Info and streaming: here. All films being shown as part of WOW are free to watch following registration; there are 200 ‘passes’ available for each film, although a few are sold out in advance.
words RHONDA LEE REALI