“Dozens of men die every year in Bangladesh as they dive into putrid drains…

“Dozens of men die every year in Bangladesh as they dive into putrid drains to clear blockages with their bare hands,” the photojournalist Fabeha Monir (@fabeha.anahita) writes. ” As an excluded community, [the Dalit, considered members of the lowest caste] continue to work in some of the most menial and low paid dangerous jobs in the country, such as cleaning toilets, sweeping streets, and emptying the septic tanks of others. Girls and women from Dalit communities in Bangladesh often fall victim to prostitution and trafficking of bonded labour. They are frequently prevented from entering the homes of non-Dalits and are often met with discrimination when trying to bury members of their family at public graveyards. This sort of ongoing discrimination has taken a toll on more than 6.5 million Dalits in Bangladesh.”
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Guljar (50) told her, ‘Thirty five years, almost every day I am doing this. When first time I was helping my father, and dive into filth, I was nervous. Nothing has changed since then. I am nervous every time I start my work. This is a service. If I cannot do it good, people will suffer. And I don’t want anyone to suffer. That doesn’t mean I stay okay. I often fell sick. I have been through serious diseases. Doctor adviced me to stay dry and clean, which is impossible for the kind of work I do. All my earning went on my daughters marriage, four of them are living happy life. Now I only worry for my son who reads in class five. My father died when I was twelve and he was a young man. I don’t want my son to face a life like me. I want to be alive for him.'
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More at @fabeha.anahita.

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“Dozens of men die every year in Bangladesh as they dive into putrid drains to clear blockages with their bare hands,” the photojournalist Fabeha Monir (@fabeha.anahita) writes. ” As an excluded community, [the Dalit, considered members of the lowest caste] continue to work in some of the most menial and low paid dangerous jobs in the country, such as cleaning toilets, sweeping streets, and emptying the septic tanks of others. Girls and women from Dalit communities in Bangladesh often fall victim to prostitution and trafficking of bonded labour. They are frequently prevented from entering the homes of non-Dalits and are often met with discrimination when trying to bury members of their family at public graveyards. This sort of ongoing discrimination has taken a toll on more than 6.5 million Dalits in Bangladesh.”
.
Guljar (50) told her, ‘Thirty five years, almost every day I am doing this. When first time I was helping my father, and dive into filth, I was nervous. Nothing has changed since then. I am nervous every time I start my work. This is a service. If I cannot do it good, people will suffer. And I don’t want anyone to suffer. That doesn’t mean I stay okay. I often fell sick. I have been through serious diseases. Doctor adviced me to stay dry and clean, which is impossible for the kind of work I do. All my earning went on my daughters marriage, four of them are living happy life. Now I only worry for my son who reads in class five. My father died when I was twelve and he was a young man. I don’t want my son to face a life like me. I want to be alive for him.’
.
More at @fabeha.anahita.