Nazma Atker on Rana Plaza
Podcast, 30 December 2014
By Salil Tripathi , Senior Advisor, Global Issues, IHRB
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The Bangladeshi activist Nazma Akter started working at a garment factory in 1984 at the age of 11. Three years later, she protested against the conditions garment workers faced. In 1994, she decided to stop working in garment factories, and dedicated herself to improving working conditions for her co-workers.
In 2003, she formed the organisation AWAJ, which is Bengali for Voice. In recent years, she has been a consistent voice of conscience, reminding western consumers and brands of their responsibility towards the workers who make the clothes worn in Western countries.
Nazma spoke to IHRB's Salil Tripathi in Bangladesh, at her busy office, about the Rana Plaza and Tazreen tragedies, the international responses - Accord and Alliance - and reinforced the importance of consumer activism.