Stories about children’s days
Aadaya, 15 year old girl
About Aadya’s life
Aadya lives in Gojmohol, Dhaka with her mother, father, brother and two sisters. Aadya works cutting gloves. Her brother works in a shoe factory. Her elder sister does not work as she has health problems. Her younger sister goes to school and also works making gloves with Aadya. Aadya’s father works at a leather factory. He also sleeps at the factory at night as there is a lack of space in their house. Her mother cuts gloves at home. Aadya first learned sewing from an NGO (World Vision).
Aadya’s father used to have a leather production factory which burned down so the home rent is unpaid and the amount is a lot for a family whose household income is about US$90 a month. During the COVID-19 pandemic the house rent was not paid for several months increasing the amount owed. Aadya works cutting gloves to pay for her youngest sister’s education. According to Aadya her other sister is not psychologically well so she cannot work.
A leather production unit burning down
It doesn’t feel good to do the work, the hand feels like it’s done.
Aadya carrying water up the stairs in her building
On 26th July 2022 Aadya recorded her journey and experiences going from home to her workplace at her aunt’s home which is only 3-4 minutes away.
On this day she also visits her tutor’s house to learn Arabic. It is a fairly typical day for Aadya, though when she is able, she likes to walk with friends to eat fuska (Bangladeshi street food) not far from her home.
There are a couple of things about Aadya’s day-to-day life that are not captured. For example, when she wakes up, she usually teach her little sister and she does many chores, like fetching water in a bucket. After the researcher left her, she cooked for her family and did housework before she went to bed.
Typically, Aadya spends more than 12 hours each day cutting gloves, cooking, doing household chores and teaching her siblings.
Aadya cooking at home
At work cutting industrial gloves used by construction workers
When Aadya looked back over the day, she described it as a “good day”. She realised the most unsafe place for her is her home – and she reflected how this is the first time she has told anyone about this. There is a dance club on the rooftop which means many bad people come and take drugs and quarrel. The lane at the side of the building is dark on an evening and boys walk too close to her. Aadya cooks for the family on the ground floor at night time when the gas is available but it is very dark. The night before when Aadya was carrying a hot pot of curry up two flights of stairs to their home, the pot fell from her hand because she could not see easily. She says she was lucky not to hurt herself.
Aadya in her workplace
Compared to her home, Aadya’s workplace feels safe. It doesn’t have any bad people in it and she often works alone. The things about her work that are unsafe are the scissors. Several times a month Aadya cuts her hands and takes medicine to reduce the pain, and carry on working. And the bad smell from the leather tanning process makes her feel bad. When she is in a good mood she can get through work quickly, otherwise she is at work from 9am to 6pm each day.
Aadya then has cooking and housework to do at home and she also often works from home in the evening making gloves to help her mother until 10 or 11pm at night.
Aadya’s sore and burned hands after cutting leather all day.
I am not always in a bad mood but sometimes many anxieties come to mind. I think if I could only go to school again! But then I am thinking about payment for my sister’s education, her school uniform and such.
Aadya’s day
Aadya cooking for her family outside
Aadya’s experience
I got up early and got myself ready. I didn’t sleep well. A girl committed suicide by hanging herself and I saw the body. I kept remembering the hanged girl and I was scared.
Researchers experience
I join Aadya at 8.30 in the morning. She sleeps in one small room with her elder sister, younger sister, mother and elder brother. Aadya shares a bed with her younger sister and her elder brother while her mother and elder sister sleep in the other corner. When I came back later everyone was sleeping again, which made me wonder whether they are having trouble sleeping as the room is very small. There is not much space after the beds, the sewing machine and a drying rack.
Aadya’s experience
This is the road I take from home to work and back again. I always walk. It is a hot day and I remark “What sunshine!”. I note how hungry I am feeling, because everyone is eating less. I feel safe on the road if there are lights and people. If any bad people sit beside the road, then it becomes unsafe for me.
Researchers experience
The factory is close to where Aadya lives and I noticed how she stops and talks to acquaintances on the journey. It was a very hot and sunny day.
The type of gloves that Aadya makes
Aadya’s experience
At work I cut hand gloves all day with scissors, following the shape and size of the gloves. I do not like the work because I get a lot of pain in my hand. The scissors are heavy to hold. It doesn’t feel good to do the work, the hand feels like it’s done. I also struggle with the heat as it is so hot, even when the fan is on. I feel bad working without eating. I feel better when I go out to buy a card to watch a drama on my phone while working. It is also good when my younger sister arrives. I have a lot of work and I feel better when working with my sister than I do alone.
Researchers experience
It surprises me how hard cutting gloves is. I cut three pairs myself and my hand hurts. Sitting there all day to cut 1,000 pairs is very hard work. I notice that there are three scars that are very deep on Aadya’s hands, and also burned skin.
It is a hot room with only a small fan. Despite the heat she works flawlessly. While she is happier watching Bengali serial dramas on her mobile at the same time as cutting gloves I worry that this may lead to more accidents. She does not eat during a break but resumes work with focus. After lunch she returns to the factory. It did not feel good sitting there the whole day.
Aadya in the cooking space that is shared by 35 families
Aadya’s experience
I often go between work and home to cook lunch and while I do this I get very hungry. I get tired climbing the stairs. I don’t like it and it’s very difficult to go up carrying a bucket filled with water.
Researchers experience
The cooking place is very unclean and it is downstairs near the garage where many people cook together. Gas problems make cooking difficult as well as the many stairs, which she has to go up and down many times. With only four stoves and 35 families needing to cook, the kitchen is busy and a quarrel breaks out. The shouting has a discernible effect on Aadya. She looks much more relaxed after the meal however. It is difficult to work without eating.
Aadya’s experience
I do not get much time after work but learning Arabic is very important. I go to the house of the person who teaches me at 7pm. The road is not good to walk along though. Boys sit, have dinner, hang around there and smoke cigarettes. After the tutoring I return home to cook for my family.
Researchers experience
At night the street is terribly dark. Some boys are standing in the middle of the street and they try to see Aadya with the light of their mobile phone and they start muttering at us.
One of the things that I hear them say as we are crossing the street is “amar ekta girl lagbe’’( I need a girl). I feel a bit frightened too, thinking about the official mobile that I have been given for this research.
It doesn’t feel safe here for girls.
Aadya’s experience
When I come into the lane with the researcher it is very dark. Three boys suddenly shine a light onto our faces. This reminds me of the other day when a boy came up very close to me even though there was enough space for him to walk past. My aunt was with me though and she could protect me. There is no light at all in this lane, except for the light from the building I live in. At night it is very dark.
All day long people come here and some of them take drugs. There are always lots of men walking around and they stare at me. There are people I try to avoid. I feel uncomfortable in my building because of one boy who punches and talks a lot when he sees me. I try not to be around if he is.
Researchers experience
We walk down the lane beside her house with her sister and we can hear the sounds of boys coming along the lane. We turn on the light from our mobile to see and one of the boys says something that frightens me. There is a dance club on the roof of the building and Aadya explains to me that a lot of boys and girls move around here. Now that it is night time I see many men crossing Aadya’s doorway for no reason. She will not say anything about their behaviour because she will get blamed if she does. Everyone has accepted their behaviour.
Aadya’s experience
It is hard going back to work at home to help my mother out to complete her orders. When I started making gloves at home in the evening I thought about how hard it is, but my mother will find it even harder if she is working alone, so I get on with it. I much prefer to spend my time talking to my girlfriends who live in my house (building) and watching dramas. I’m not good at waiting for them to come on TV. I like to watch them in advance.
Researchers experience
I left at 8.30 pm and Aadya was already working again on leather gloves. She tells me she will work until ten or eleven tonight. She works from morning to evening in the factory and then at night she assists her mother as her mother will struggle to complete the work all by herself.
Explore Aadya’s journey
Rama, 17, supports her family by working as a beautician in the daytime and as a dancer in a dance bar at night.
Supriya, 16, works in a party palace (party venue) from 5pm until midnight.
Pema, 15, works in events catering in the afternoons and evenings, after going to college in the morning.
Khem, 17, has worked for a relative in a khaja ghar (small eatery) since he was ten years old.