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Understanding the Relationship Between Walkability and Quality-of-Life of Women Garment Workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh

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An Erratum to this article was published on 02 May 2014

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Notes

  1. While commuting to work is a daily issue faced by virtually all workers, other issues are important as well, including the thoroughly inadequate minimum wage and possibilities of being killed on the job:

    “Since 2005, over 1,800 workers have died and thousands more were severely injured in garment factory fires and building collapses. … While the recent tragedies at Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza, in which at least 1,239 workers died making clothing for export, have understandably attracted international attention and condemnation, the fact is that most of the 5,000 garment factories in Bangladesh are not up to fire and building safety code–they are death traps.” Testimony of Kalpona Akter, Executive Director, Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Labor Issues in Bangladesh, June 6, 2013.

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Dedication and Acknowledgement

This article is dedicated to the hundreds of young women garment workers who lost their lives during the factory collapse of April 24, 2013. As far as we know none of the interviewed women in this article worked in the Rana Plaza garment complex at the time of the disaster.

Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust is acknowledged for their generous support with all field work activities. Special thanks to Mr. Saifuddin Ahmed (Executive Director, WBB Trust), Kristie Daniel (Program Director, Liveable Cities, HealthBridge, Canada), Maruf Rahman (National Advocacy Officer, WBB Trust), Samiul Hassan Shajib (Assistant Project Officer, WBB Trust), Ornob Thakur (Volunteer, URP student, BUET), and Jashim Uddin (Volunteer, URP student, BUET)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust, 14/3/A Jafrabad, Rayerbazar, Dhaka, 1207, Bangladesh

    S. Shumi & D. Efroymson

  2. Centre for Transport Studies, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    M. H. P. Zuidgeest

  3. Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    J. A. Martinez & M. F. A. M. van Maarseveen

  4. HealthBridge, 1 Nicholas Street, Suite 1004, Ottawa, ON, KIN 7B7, Canada

    M. H. P. Zuidgeest & D. Efroymson

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  1. S. Shumi
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Correspondence to S. Shumi, M. H. P. Zuidgeest, J. A. Martinez or D. Efroymson.

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Shumi, S., Zuidgeest, M.H.P., Martinez, J.A. et al. Understanding the Relationship Between Walkability and Quality-of-Life of Women Garment Workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Applied Research Quality Life 10, 263–287 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-014-9312-8

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