IRBID - Thousands of Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and Jordanian women on Friday took to the streets in protest against a report containing allegations of sexual abuse at a garment factory in Al Hassan Industrial Estate.
The 82-page report, issued by the US-based Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights (IGLHR), cited testimonies compiled from interviews with foreign workers at Classic Fashion in the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) alleging systematic rape and torture practised against Sri Lankan women by their compatriots in charge of the factory.
The marchers, dressed in blue and carrying Sri Lankan flags, held banners and placards accusing the American NGO of reporting baseless allegations against the factory owner and management and calling on local authorities to investigate the claims.
Heading out from two hostels, the demonstrators were joined by scores of Jordanian women workers who protested in solidarity with their Sri Lankan colleagues, carrying Jordanian flags and banners calling on the government to take action to protect their source of income.
An IGLHR delegation was supposed to meet with the workers on Friday and provide them with evidence supporting the allegations, but they did not show up or give a reason for cancelling the visit.
The workers received the news of the alleged rapes with rage and anger and decided to take to the streets to express their rejection of the report's contents, Classic Fashion Managing Director Sanal Kumar told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of the demonstration.
"We started our business in Jordan in 2003 and our human rights and labourers' rights record is consistent with local regulations. This report is biased and they have a personal agenda aiming to damage the good reputation enjoyed by the Jordanian QIZ sector," he said, challenging the IGLHR to prove its accusations.
Kumar called on the local authorities to protect foreign investors and take legal measures against the report's authors.
Despite several attempts by The Jordan Times to contact the IGLHR office in the US, they were unavailable for comment.
Kumar said more than 5,000 workers, mostly women, work in Classic Fashion's five factories in the Irbid QIZ; some 1,200 are members of the General Trade Union of Workers in Textile, Garment and Clothing Industries.
"Why didn't any of the alleged rape victims complain to the union or the ministry's hotline or even the police?" he asked.
Kusum, a participant in the march, told The Jordan Times that she has been working in the factory for several years and has never witnessed any ill-treatment or abuse by the factory supervisors.
"The damage caused by the report was extensive. I have been receiving calls from my husband and children in Sri Lanka asking me about these allegations," the 32-year-old said, noting that her job in Jordan has enabled her to take care of her family.
"The factory is open to any human rights group to verify the sexual abuse claims," said Radhakrishnan, co-owner of Classic Fashion.
"We insist on exposing the truth and are brave enough to take full responsibility if we are proven guilty of the charges stipulated in the report."
Titled "Sexual Predators and Serial Rapists Run Wild at Wal-Mart Supplier in Jordan," the report said the workers "have suffered routine sexual abuse and repeated rapes, and in some cases even torture".
"One young rape victim at the Classic factory in Jordan told us her assailant, a manager, bit her, leaving scars all over her body. Women who become pregnant are forcibly deported and returned to Sri Lanka. Women who refuse the sexual advances of Classic's managers are also beaten and deported," it added.
© Jordan Times 2011
