6 - Broken Breadwinners: On Womanhood and Gender Divisions of Labour

Summary

Setting Up Shop

I was with Momtaz Khatun inside her small shop one afternoon in June 2018, during the heart of the monsoon season. The summer humidity coupled with the thunderous bellowing of windy rain shook the open thatched dwelling as Momtaz sat at the back, crouched on a small table, intricately embroidering the sides of the dress for her friend's daughter under a lightly dimmed hariken, as her husband manned the front table. Eid was only a few days away and Momtaz had two more orders to get through before the holiday arrived. They had set up this small makeshift shop at the end of their lane under a bamboo roof without walls to take orders and sew on demand if anybody required the services. ‘There is a lot of demand around Eid time. I know many women are sewing but, in this zone, I am the only one with a shop and so many people know I am here, so they come to me if they need quick service.’ Prior to arriving in Bangladesh, Momtaz tells me that she did not ‘imagine’ ever working for an income, much less having a shop set up for her. In her hometown of Buthidaung, Myanmar, her husband Ahmed was the sole provider, working as a labourer in the village, and her responsibilities revolved primarily around childcare and taking care of the home.

I am telling you, sister, Allah only knows how we are surviving now. I am trying my best to provide for the family. As you know the men here have no jobs or opportunities and the little money I make from the embroidery is running our household. Allah’r shokr [thanks to Allah] I even have this. It's not much, but it's honest work. You know, I used to love embroidering – I always used to do it for fun back in Myanmar, but now it is important work that I need to do to keep my family fed. Especially for my four children. I know it's hard for the men – my husband had a shop in Myanmar and he was self-sufficient to feed our family. But now I am the one with a shop. Isn't that something? Now we are working together.