Business Plus
25 July 2026, 00:00 AM
Women once made up 80% of the garment workforce. That share has fallen below 55% thanks to automation, wage shifts, age and gender bias
Tangila Tasnim
When Nasima got a text from her employer during the Eid holidays, she expected another routine message. Instead, it told her she had been fired.“I still do not know what my fault was,” said Nasima, 35, who spent her working life as a machine operator before being let go from one of seven Al-Muslim Group factories in Savar that laid off 1,868 workers.She says most of those dismissed were women around her age. “I also have a male relative who works at the same factory, but he was not dismissed.”The Daily Star could not independently verify the claim. When contacted, Rajib Hossain, assistant general manager at Al-Muslim Group, could not provide any data to that end. The company last month said the layoffs complied with labour law and that all dues were paid.For Nasima, it matters little. She has since returned to her home district of Gaibandha. “At my age, where can I find another job?”She was part of an industry where women, who once built it, now often see the axe more frequently than men.
