From homes washed away by flooding in Sunamganj, to saline-scarred fields in Khulna, to river erosion in Bhola, thousands of women are streaming toward the cities. The ready-made garment factories that have sprung up across urban areas are fast becoming their new refuge.
But this refuge brings little comfort; it ushers in a new struggle—long working hours, deteriorating health, and a cycle of neglect. In 2017, after Cyclone Mora, 18-year-old Rupali left Satkhira with her family and took shelter in Dhaka’s Korail slum. With help from neighbors, she and her sister Halima found jobs in a garment factory. Rupali now works in Tongi as a sewing operator.
“Our lives were swept away by the cyclone,” she said. “We lost our house, land, and cattle. My father had planted watermelons in the field; we lost all of it. Crushed by debt, we chose life in Dhaka. As a sewing operator, my day starts at 9 am, and they don’t even give us time for a tiffin break. In the sweater factory we toil until 10 pm, with no overtime. After 10 pm it’s the night shift.”
“The supervisors don’t allow frequent bathroom breaks here, and we don’t get leave for any illness,” she added.
Between 2009 and 2025, internal migration in Bangladesh has steadily risen due to climate change, with the southwest and coastal regions among the hardest hit.
In Khulna Division’s Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat districts, and in Barishal Division’s Barguna, Patuakhali, and Jhalokathi, river erosion, cyclones, and floods have driven large-scale displacement. In the northeast, heavy rainfall and flash floods triggered extensive displacement during the floods of 2022 and 2024 in Sylhet and Sunamganj.
A Migration Policy Institute article notes that from 2014 to 2023, natural disasters in Bangladesh displaced approximately 14.7 million people from their homes.
The World Bank’s “Ground Soil” 2021 report states that in 2018 alone about 3,50,000 people in Bangladesh were displaced for climate-related reasons, 60 percent of them from coastal districts and 40 percent women.
A 2025 World Bank report says climate change could internally displace 13.3 million people in Bangladesh by 2050—around 37 percent of South Asia’s internal migrants—over half of whom would be women.
Research further indicates that many of these women are entering the garment sector, yet 73 percent lack adequate healthcare, and 62 percent face discrimination or harassment at work.
Women are more vulnerable in this migration than men. Men more often find paid employment, while women frequently work as “contributing family workers,” a role with significantly lower pay.
Studies show that 95 percent of migrant women report no childcare facilities at work. Some 88 percent lack adequate sanitation, 87 percent have no insurance or safety provisions, and 67 percent say they are paid less than men.
Women also lag in healthcare. Only 20 percent of migrant women receive four or more antenatal care (ANC) visits, compared with about 40 percent among non-migrant women.
World Bank reports recommend prioritizing women’s needs in policy, urban planning, and health services so they can remain safe, healthy, and productive.
Another study (IOM, 2024) finds that climate-induced migrant women face rising reproductive health problems, psychological stress, and erosion of workplace rights.
In 2020, 17-year-old Purnima Akter migrated from Paikgacha in Khulna to Gazipur. She suffers from cervical problems. As saline water ended her family’s only source of income—cultivating their land—she moved to the city.
“Now I rely on garments work, but reproductive health services here are very poor. There are clinics, but no one listens to our problems. I’ve been ill for a year and can’t afford proper treatment,” Purnima said.
Nasima, who lost her home to river erosion, said she now works in Gazipur after her house in Bhola was destroyed. She runs her family on Tk 14,000 a month. Her child stays in the village with the grandmother. There is no hygiene in the bathrooms here, and no maternity leave. They work relentlessly at the machines.
“My body can’t cope. I didn’t even get two months off after giving birth, and I returned to work for the sake of my stomach while my infant is still nursing. I have constant lower abdominal pain. I don’t have the money for treatment, and there’s no medical facility for us in the factory,” she said.
Sultana Begum, president of the Green Bangla Garments Workers’ Federation, said, “The vast majority of migrant women join mills and factories as workers. Most are aged 18 to 45 and menstruating. They receive no rest during their periods; instead they face heavier workloads. They also use dirty fabric waste from the factories, which jeopardizes their reproductive health. We have raised these issues and continue to demand at least that garments provide sanitary napkins during menstruation. But this is not being done.”
She alleged that 60 percent of factories in the country do not provide maternity leave or allowances to women. Instead, they discourage women from having children in various ways.
“Women who migrate under the shock of climate change are being crushed by the grinding conditions in urban garment workplaces, harming both their mental and physical health,” she added.
A recent icddr,b study reports that in the garments sector, workplace psychological violence against women rose from 48 percent to 55 percent in two years. Reproductive health services at workplaces are limited; only 22 percent of factories supply sanitary pads, and just 14 percent provide family planning materials or information.
Emeritus Scientist at icddr,b Ruchira Tabassum Naved said, “Reproductive health among women working in Bangladesh’s garment industry is worse than among other women.” She called for joint action by the government, development organizations, and partners to improve the situation.
