Stories

Antara Akhter Arifa

Worker

I think this training is useful, and we should implement it in our daily lives. It is important for people to behave with respect towards each other. We can set the example—if people see that we behave respectfully towards them, they may behave like this with others.

At work, I would say that if I see anyone behaving badly, I will talk to them about it—regardless of whether they are a supervisor, a line manager, or a co-worker. I will tell [them] to discuss their problems rather than screaming over people. This training has taught me that rather than getting aggressive or angry about the situation, it is easier to find a solution if both parties calm down and have a discussion about it.

I would like to teach my daughter both Arabic and Bengali. And if I can afford it, I would like her to become a doctor. If everyone in our society starts believing that men and women are equal, we have a chance to change things.

Stories

Ravi Asrani

Factory Manager

We have a policy in the factory: no screaming or shouting on any floor, anyone to anyone. If you walk on the factory floor in daytime, you will find people talking to each other at a normal volume. Unlike in other factories, there is no aggression or physical assault here. So the workers are happy workers. If you walk on the floor they will not be scared of you and they will be able to carry on working as normal. They do not flinch when you walk in.

What was attractive for us about HERrespect was taking this gender equality to their domestic area, from work to home, where we do not have any control. When you are talking about teaching the worker about soft skills like time management and conflict management, like every other human being they deserve to know how to handle time and conflict in a way that is not going to cause any further deterioration in their relationships in the workplace. And it is a promotion of their own well-being that will transform into benefits for our workplace. The person who is happy in the workplace is more likely to give me output in terms of quality and in terms of quantity, compared to someone who is upset. We see it has a huge benefit.

You want to contribute to society, however small your contribution. This is a positive change. And we are proud to be a part of it.

Stories

Shaheeda Khatun

Worker

To me, an ideal workplace is where I can meet my targets without any obstacles. No one will scream over me, and I do not need to face any sort of scolding or any sort of misbehavior from anyone.

It will make me more enthusiastic about my job and will help me to improve. If I find anyone who is behaving incorrectly, I should teach them how to behave with people, how to respect people.

I learned here about domestic violence. There are a lot of people who go through it but do not know what to do. After this training, I feel confident that we will be able to help victims of domestic violence.

Stories

Nadira Pramanik

Welfare Officer

Men and women work here together, and most of the times they work here for long periods. They also deal with a heavy workload. My role is to provide them with all possible solutions considering their overall situation in the workplace.

As the society is not in favor of women succeeding, women have to feel the urge inside them. For their own success, women have to concentrate only on achieving their goal. But men should also change their mentality. They should recognize women as human beings. In our society there is a trend to treat women as subordinates. They think that women will only take care of the household chores and that they are bound to carry out the orders of a man. This mentality must be changed. Men should realize that women are entitled to enjoy the same freedom and opportunities as they do. Only then can the change we need be brought into society.

Women most frequently share their family issues with me, and most of the issues are husband-oriented. For instance, most of the time the women have been physically abused by their husbands. Secondly, their husbands have taken all of the salary. As the company always provides women with a pay slip, the husbands know the exact amount their wives have been paid. If the woman secretly keeps even a very small amount, the husband starts yelling at her.

Stories

Munieswari

Peer Educator

When I started working at the factory, none of my female colleagues would look their male colleagues or the general manager in the eye, or even in the face, when speaking to them. Now, after the HERrespect trainings all my colleagues have started to treat each other more equally and to look at each other when they talk. My colleagues are a lot more comfortable in expressing their feelings.

Personally I now feel much more confident speaking up in front of management, to voice my opinion and talk directly to their faces. Even when I go to other factories to speak to their management I feel confident.

Two things in particular from the trainings have helped me. The first is to develop the confidence to maintain eye contact with others when talking to them, and the second is the technique of speaking with "I-statements", which means that one should start to address a problem with explaining how I feel, and how the action of someone else has made me feel. I have started to apply this technique in all of my activities. It has helped both earn the respect of my manager as well as the workers I am responsible for.

I think that this training should be done at all factories. Many women workers in factories are working there because they are facing family problems, such as a husband that is jobless or alcoholic, or because they want to support their children's education. This training is especially important for them since it helps them strengthen and change their mindsets. It also helps them manage stress better and relax their minds.

Stories

Krishnaveni

Peer Educator

With the HERrespect training, I feel a big difference in my confidence. I can communicate more assertively and I know how to respond to everyone, including my senior colleagues. I feel more strongly that because I participate equally in all activities in the factory and have the same production output as my male colleagues, I should be treated the same.

My colleagues—both male and female—do not always treat each other with respect. Supervisors will call female workers names and ask them “if a boy can do this, why can’t you?”. And in the work environment, male and female workers are treated differently—even if I am trained as a tailor, I am not treated in the same way as male tailors.

I also realize how differently we treat women and men. If we only give dresses and dolls to girls but trucks, cars, pens, and educational material to boys, how can we then expect women to know things as well as men? For instance, several women in my factory do not know how to get home if they miss the factory bus, since they have never been taught how to read the signs on the buses.

My daughter is doing really well in school and wants to go to medical school. Before the training I didn’t have the confidence to stand up to people that asked why my daughter should study when we didn’t have the money. But now, with the HERrespect facilitator I have identified ways to help my daughter to prepare for her medical school exams. We both have more confidence level after the training.

I believe that if you aim to achieve something and work hard for it, you can reach your goal.

Stories

Padmanabha Naik

Tailor

I work as a tailor at a garment factory in Tirupur. My wife and two children live in a village in the state of Odisha, which is a 30-hour train ride away, so I see them only 2-3 times a year. I have taken on the role of peer educator (Change Maker) in the HERrespect program.

At first I was a little bewildered about the purpose of the training and what was going to be taught, but the facilitator engaged us in the activities and made us feel good about ourselves. After that, all of us were excited about the trainings and would get there early. The management organized the trainings well and gave the workers a notice two days in advance to make sure they would come to the training.

My favorite session was about problem solving. It taught me how to better communicate with my family: for instance, through managing the expectations of my family of how much I earn. Previously if my wife wanted a sari for 4,000 INR (60 dollars), I would get angry. Now, I explain the financial situation of the family and explain what is feasible.

This has also helped me to communicate with my father, who used to get very angry as a way of dealing with decades of stress. For the first time I brought this up with my father. I explained that I wanted to help the whole family; that my father has invested a lot in his family over the years and now I am also there to support the family. After this, my father has been less angry.

In the training we learned many methods of conflict resolution, for instance how to interrupt a conflict with another activity. One day when two people in the factory started fighting, I decided to intervene. I pretended that I was riding a scooter and I went between the two who were fighting, to break up the fight.