Just 10 kilometers northwest of Cox’s Bazar town lies Nazirartek, home to the country’s largest dry fish (shutki) processing hub. As far as the eye can see, the area is filled with various fish laid out to dry under the sun.
This coastal village produces 60% of the nation’s total dry fish demand. After meeting domestic consumption, dry fish worth over Tk 400 crore is exported annually.
Despite playing a crucial role in this booming sector, women workers in Nazirartek’s shutki industry are facing stark wage discrimination. Although more than half of the labor force in this coastal processing zone is women, they continue to receive only half the wages paid to men for the same work.
Local women workers say they toil from dawn to dusk—sorting, drying, and packaging fish—but are paid only Tk 300 to Tk 500 daily. In contrast, men working similar hours often earn up to Tk 800.
On this May Day, women laborers in Nazirartek are raising their voices for a long-overdue demand: equal pay for equal work.
By Mohammad Morshed
Photo: Hussain Shetu
