Assessment of Socio-Economic and Sexual Vulnerability of Tea Workers in Bangladesh

The main purpose of this study is to explore and explain the dynamics of a sexual vulnerability of female tea garden workers in Bangladesh. A quantitative oriented qualitative mixed method has been applied to this study. The study reveals that nearly 52% of the respondents are tortured or harassed in the garden and among them, 26% of the tortured respondents have convicted Tila babu. Only 26% of the total respondents have slight radio exposure. And surprisingly 1% of the respondents hear radio less than once a week. Many new issues are found in this research such as 5% of the respondents watch TV less than once a week. Marxist feminist theory and feminist political activist theory have been consulted to explore the concerned issues such as a women's right to bodily integrity and autonomy for protection from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape as well as workplace rights. Marxist thinkers indicate that all exploitations domination is occurred because of class inequality and class discrimination. Because Marxist theory has little room for issues dealing directly with women's reproductive and sexual concerns, many Marxist feminists initially focused on women's work-related concerns. The study suggests that law enforcement should be strengthened through giving punishment of convicted persons of tea garden authorities through introducing an inter tea garden's Investigation Commission and increasing accessibility of NGOs.