Killer Jeans — Why Are Women Garment Workers Dying Young?
There’s a harrowing story of livelihood, labour, and premature death stitched into the fabric of your denim. The next time you buy a pair of jeans, remember the young women who crafted them, balancing dreams and hardships, somewhere on a shop floor in a Bengaluru industrial estate
Boyfriend. Cargo. Distressed. Flare. Mom.
What do these terms have in common?
They are all styles of denim jeans. But if you’ve ever shopped for jeans, you’ll already know the answer.
It takes about 15 minutes and 12 steps to produce a pair of finished blue jeans. In this episode of Story Of…, host Richa Govil gets under the skin of a fabric that is arguably a second skin for people globally.
It is estimated that 4.5 million pairs of jeans are sold every year, with an estimated 50 – 70% of the production concentrated in India, Bangladesh, and China. In 2023, India was estimated to be the fastest growing country for denim consumption. In 2020 alone, Indians bought 640 million pairs of jeans.
Our guest, Arima Mishra, is a faculty member at the School of Development at Azim Premji University. A medical anthropologist, she shares surprising findings from her research in Bengaluru’s garment factories. Karnataka, accounting for around 20% of India’s garment production, houses over 760 factories in the state capital alone. Arima’s interest began with a shocking discovery of high mortality rates among young female garment workers, prompting a deeper investigation into their lives and health vulnerabilities.
Through personal anecdotes and research, we uncover the realities these women face — migrants from various regions, primarily from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, working under intense pressure to meet production targets. They endure physical and mental stress, often leading to serious health issues like chronic pain, irregular periods, and even cancer. Despite laws and policies aiming to protect workers, their everyday working conditions remain challenging.
This episode also touches on broader issues of women’s workforce participation and empowerment, highlighting the nuanced impact of employment on women’s health and well-being. Arima’s findings challenge us to rethink occupational health beyond visible hazards and consider the profound effects of daily working conditions.
Tune in to ‘Story of Jeans’ to learn the human stories stitched into the fabric of your denim. Next time you buy a pair of jeans, remember the young women who crafted them, balancing dreams and hardships somewhere on the shop floor in a Bengaluru industrial estate.
Boyfriend. Cargo. Distressed. Flare. Mom.
Can you now see those words in a different light?
Credits
Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi, and Velu Shankar
Acknowledgments:
Garment workers interviewed by Sumedha Mohanty. Additional thanks to Rajesh Joseph, Arima Mishra, and Dechamma CS
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Resources and Further Reading
A) Journal Articles and Research Papers
- Mishra, Arima, Rajesh Joseph, Manjunath Gangadhara, and Roshni Lobo. “Body as Machine: Health Vulnerability of Women Garment Factory Workers in India.” SSM — Qualitative Research in Health 4 (2023): 100301. ISSN 2667 – 3215.
- Lessing, Johanna. “Work and Love: The Limits of Autonomy for Female Garment Workers in India.” Anthropology of Work Review.
- Parimalam, Paramasivam, Narayani Kamalamma, and Anind Kumar Ganguli. “Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Related to Occupational Health Problems among Garment Workers in Tamil Nadu, India.” Journal of Occupational Health 49, no. 6 (November 2007): 528 – 534.
- Murayama, Mayumi. “Female Garment Workers in India and Bangladesh in the Post-MFA Era.” In Globalization, Employment and Mobility, edited by Hiroshi Sato and Mayumi Murayama, 192 – 214. IDE-JETRO Series. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
- Kabir, Humayun, Myfanwy Maple, Kim Usher, et al. “Health Vulnerabilities of Readymade Garment (RMG) Workers: A Systematic Review.” BMC Public Health 19 (2019): 70.
B) News Articles
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