Published TUESDAY May 27, 2025: 'MODERN SLAVERY: Child Labor Bangladesh' by ZUMA Press award winning photo-journalist GMB Akash: Bangladesh is the beating heart of the global fast fashion business. The ready-made garment (RMG) sector of Bangladesh employs over four million people, the majority of whom are women, and sends 80 percent of its production to Europe and the US. This South Asian country has increased oversight in factories to reduce child labor, however a recent study found that for every 15 garment workers, one is a minor. Child labour remains a pressing issue in Bangladesh, where millions of children are engaged in all forms of work that deprive them of their childhood, education, and potential. Many families rely on the income generated by their kids to simply survive, leading to a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break. Despite efforts of the UN and world governments to eliminate children from the workforce by end of 2025, that target now seems a long way off. Welcome to 'MODERN SLAVERY: Child Labor Bangladesh'
© zReportage.com Issue #991 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY May 27, 2025: 'MODERN SLAVERY: Child Labor Bangladesh' by ZUMA Press award winning photo-journalist GMB Akash: Bangladesh is the beating heart of the global fast fashion business. The ready-made garment (RMG sector of Bangladesh employs over four million people, the majority of whom are women, and sends 80 percent of its production to Europe and the US. This South Asian country has increased oversight in factories to reduce child labor, however a recent study found that for every 15 garment workers, one is a minor. Child labour remains a pressing issue in Bangladesh, where millions of children are engaged in all forms of work that deprive them of their childhood, education, and potential. Many families rely on the income generated by their kids to simply survive, leading to a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break. Despite efforts of the UN and world governments to eliminate children from the workforce by end of 2025, that target now seems a long way off. Welcome to 'MODERN SLAVERY: Child Labor Bangladesh'
Aluminum dust cover a child's hands at a machine work shop in Dhaka capital of Bangladesh, where many families rely on the income generated by their children to simply survive, leading to a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
With bare hands a young boy collects metal off-cuts of piping from the floor at a machine shop in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. 160 million children are in child labour globally, equating to almost one in ten children worldwide and despite efforts of the UN and world governments to eliminate children from the workforce by end of 2025, that target now seems a long way off.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
DALIYA, a 13-year-old girl, has been working at this textile factory in Dhaka for the last three years and earns a monthly salary of 7000 taka (66 USD). When she started working here, her salary was only 3000 taka, her mother also works beside her. With the increasing cost of living, it is becoming even more challenging for hardworking individuals like Daliya and her mother to make ends meet in Dhaka,.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
A young girl works at a metalworks machine shop in Dhaka. Child labor is a serious problem in Bangladesh, with millions of children between the ages of 5 and 14 working in various industries, where they earn a meager salary of around 6000 takas (50 USD)per month.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
A young boy collects newly pressed metal nails on the floor at a metal workshop in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. 160 million children are in child labour globally, equating to almost one in ten children worldwide and despite efforts of the UN and world governments to eliminate children from the workforce by end of 2025, that target now seems a long way off.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
A young boy works a mechanical hand crane used to lift heavy equipment at a machine works in Dhaka capital of Bangladesh. In this South Asian country millions of children are engaged in all forms of work that deprive them of their childhood, education, and potential. Many families rely on the income generated by their kids to simply survive, leading to a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
Wearing an Argentina soccer shirt, a young boy sorts various colored plastic bottles for recycling in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. Many families rely on the income generated by their children to simply survive, leading to a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
A young girl adds spools of yarn to a large loom at a textile factory in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. Child labor is a serious problem in Bangladesh, with millions of children between the ages of 5 and 14 working in various industries, where they can earn a meager salary of around 6000 taka (50 USD) per month.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
A young girl stands beside a heavy machinery at a metalworks shop in Dhaka. Child labour remains a pressing issue in Bangladesh, where millions of children are engaged in all forms of work that deprive them of their childhood, education, and potential.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
KHUSBO an 11-year-old girl, has been working at this textile factory in Dhaka for 12 months and earns a monthly salary of 5000 takas (47 USD). Her mother works near her in the same factory. With the increasing cost of living, it is becoming even more challenging for hardworking individuals like Khusbo and her mother to make ends meet.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
A boy works a large loom at a textile factory in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. Child labor is a serious problem in Bangladesh, with millions of children between the ages of 5 and 14 working in various industries, where they can earn a meager salary of around 6000 taka (50 USD) per month.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
YASIN, a 14-year-old boy, works in an iron factory without protective helmet or gloves or clothing while using a Oxy-Acetalyne gas cutting torch. Yasin earns 6000 taka (50 USD) per month in Dhaka.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
DALIYA, 13, works with a sewing machine and has been working at this textile factory in Dhaka for the last three years to earn a monthly salary of 7000 taka (66 USD). When she started working here, her salary was only 3000 taka, her mother also works beside her. With the increasing cost of living, it is becoming even more challenging for hardworking individuals like Daliya and her mother to make ends meet.
© GMB Akash/ZUMA Press Wire
