Udita

Women on the front line of Bangladesh's garment workers' struggle

In Udita (Arise), the women and men who work in the garment industry in Bangladesh tell us how difficult it is to live on a wage paid by a factory that forms the most important economic pillar of their country. Directors Hannan Majid and Richard York, of the Rainbow Collective, spent over five years filming from 2010, documenting the evolution of trade union struggles to eradicate labour exploitation and raise awareness of the basic labour rights of the country's four million textile workers. The film weaves together footage from earlier Rainbow Collective documentaries with new material, building a cumulative portrait of an industry and a workforce in motion.

Going directly to the heart of its purpose, the documentary refuses silence and presents from the outset the sounds of life and struggle: the forceful speeches of union leaders, the chants of those marching for labour rights, the persistent noise of textile machines on the factory floor, and the first-hand testimonies of those who operate them. These testimonies focus primarily on working women, for whom garment factories represent almost the only opportunity for formal employment. Viewers encounter individuals such as Razia Begum, who lost family members in the Rana Plaza collapse, and Shohibita Rani, who survived the Tazreen factory fire. The film also portrays union organiser Aleya Atta, whose decades of factory work led her to dedicate herself to educating women about their rights. Produced by the Rainbow Collective and OpenVizor, Udita is both a record of collective awakening and a document of a grassroots movement claiming its place in history.