Securing Protection for Domestic Workers in Bangladesh

Overview

This case study shows that it is possible to achieve change for even the poorest and most marginalised women in the face of adversity. It is an example of a ground-breaking policy that offers rights and protections to domestic workers in Bangladesh who had recently been explicitly excluded in the country's Labour Act. It was made possible by nine years of collective work led by an alliance of diverse CSOs and rights and labour organizations, including domestic workers. As well as securing the policy change, the group helped to support and mobilize thousands of domestic workers to claim their own rights and hold employers and governments to account for implementing the policy. All of this took place in a context of constrained space for citizens to exercise their democratic and civil rights.