Experience

Illustration of a blue-and-black striped shirt overlaid with close-up panels of a garment worker’s hands: a cut finger, hands beneath a dispenser, hands rubbing oil into a sore wrist, and a hand pressing striped fabric with an iron.

My Mother Refuses to Fold

Through this poem, a 19-year-old college student in Dhaka writes about her mother, a garment worker and single parent facing retaliation for organising with colleagues to demand unpaid wages. Through the daughter’s eyes, the poem traces the pain, fear and quiet courage of a woman who irons other people’s clothes every day, yet refuses to be folded by intimidation.

nanditashiva

Jul 213 min read

An illustrated delivery driver emerges from a smartphone screen wearing a helmet and carrying a delivery bag. Around him are symbols of precarious work and survival: a hand holding cash, a five-star rating icon, and his mother sewing by hand.

Rating: ★★★★★

Five-Star Rating is a poem written by a 24-year-old delivery worker in India as he moves between orders, college classes, part-time gigs, and the quiet pressure of supporting his family. Written in his own words, the poem captures what it means to survive inside a city that depends on your labour but rarely looks you in the eye.

Anonymous

Jun 22 min read

The Day My Mother Sleeps

Shared in Tamil by a 28-year-old garment worker from Erode, India, this poem traces her journey to Tirupur, where she produces clothes for the world. Through memories of home, work, debt, and longing, she writes about her deepest dream: the day her mother can finally sleep without fear of debt.