Drawing on fieldwork with readymade garment workers in Bangladesh, this paper presents an analytical framework with which to better understand a critical aspect of labour organizing that is often missed, particularly in the context of women’s activism: the development of affective communities.
Paper long abstract:
Workers’ institutions such as trade unions and workers’ centres are crucial for organizing workers. However, in much of the Global South, the ability of these institutions to reach out to women workers is limited. Taking as a case study the garment workers in Bangladesh, this paper explores the ways in workers and activists attempt to overcome the historic ban on trade unions in the country's largest export-earning industry by organizing beyond the production floor in spaces of social reproduction. In doing so, this paper bridges theories of social reproduction (Vogel, 1983; Bhattacharya, 2017) with a materialist reading of affect (Hennessy, 2013; Chun, 2016) to offer an analytical framework with which to better understand a critical aspect of labour organizing in Bangladesh that is often missed, particularly in the context of women’s activism: the development of affective communities. I argue that at once hidden and overlooked, these communities – and therefore, relationships – that women cultivate span from workplaces to spaces of social reproduction are crucial for developing the capacities for activism and strengthening workers’ institutions themselves.