In the northern borderlands of Panchagarh, thousands of women spend their days breaking stones in riverside quarries like Tetulia’s Banglabandha. Most are widowed, separated, or carrying the full weight of their families on their own. They begin at dawn, completing housework, caring for children, and then work from 8 AM to 5 PM in punishing, dust-filled conditions. There is no safety equipment. Many fall ill. But there is no choice. The work feeds their children.
What they earn is barely enough: 400 to 500 taka a day. Their male counterparts, often working the same hours and tasks, are paid 700 to 1000 taka. Women say they lift the same loads, work the same shifts, but still receive less. Employers claim men “work faster” or “do heavier tasks,” but that doesn’t reflect the actual division of labor in most sites. Women outnumber men in many local crushing spots. They do it all, standing, bending, sorting, lifting.
Yet, they are treated as second-class laborers. Their bodies bear the same toll, but their pay doesn’t reflect it.
In the words of one worker, “We break stones, we break our backs, but our wages remain broken.” This is not just a labor issue. It is a reflection of how society continues to undervalue women’s work, even when it keeps families, industries, and entire local economies running.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 