Only one-third of RMG workers use sanitary napkins
A recent survey on family planning and menstrual health on garments workers in Bangladesh found only 34 percent of women garment workers use sanitary napkins during menstruation, while 44 percent still use clean clothes instead.
It also found that three percent of them use no measures of the sort during their periods, while two percent use toilet tissues on days they have heavy flow.
Among those female garment workers to whom family planning was applicable (i.e. they were married, of reproductive age and ability), 71 percent reported employing active family planning strategies.
Fifty-two percent reported using some kind of contraceptive pill, while 30 percent used some kind of contraceptive injection.
Only nine percent were found using a condom, while one percent was found using an intrauterine device. Permanent surgery, or implant was each used by less than one percent of applicable female respondents.
The study was conducted by South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) and Microfinance Opportunities (MFO). The researchers asked women respondents specific questions about their family planning strategies and menstrual health.
It was conducted through phone interviews from a pool of 886 female workers in September this year, 875 of whom indicated they were comfortable with answering the questions.
These workers are employed in factories spread across the five main industrial areas of Bangladesh -- Chittagong, Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Savar.
SANEM in collaboration with Microfinance Opportunities (MFO) has been conducting a series of surveys on the garments workers of Bangladesh. The surveys are part of a project titled "Garment Worker Diaries."
The Garment Worker Diaries collect regular, credible data on the work hours, income, expenses, and use of financial tools of workers in the global apparel and textile supply chain in producing countries.
The objective of the project is to encourage data-driven government policy decisions, collective bargaining, and factory and brand initiatives related to improving the lives of garment workers.
The project began in 2016 when Microfinance Opportunities, a global non-profit, in collaboration with local research firms in Bangladesh, India, and Cambodia, collected data from 180 women in each country every week for a year.
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