The Labor of Fashion, the Global COVID-19 Crisis, and the Politics of Resistance in Bangladesh

The Mittal Institute, Harvard University

The global apparel industry is currently facing an unprecedented crisis resulting from the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Major fashion retailers in the Global North are closing their stores and laying off workers. This discussion addresses how we can engage in dialogues and organize across borders to simultaneously hold the global retailers, governments, and factory owners accountable for ensuring workers’ safety and wellbeing. Moderators - Dr. Elora Chowdhury, Professor, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston - Dr. Durba Mitra, Assistant Professor, Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Harvard University Discussants - Taslima Akhter, Photographer and Organizer, Bangladesh Garments Sramik Shanghati - Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh - Dr. Seuty Sabur, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, BRAC University, Bangladesh - Dr. Dina M. Siddiqi, Clinical Associate Professor, Liberal Studies, New York University - Dr. Nafisa Tanjeem, Assistant Professor, Global Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Lesley University