The brick kiln industry relies heavily on women for its most grueling tasks, particularly during the preparatory phase before production begins. Women shoulder the burden of sorting and organizing kilns and storage areas by hand, a physically demanding job that often goes unnoticed. This manual labor intensifies during the production season, which runs from December to May, as families migrate to live and work at these kilns. Entire households, including children, become part of this labor force, making child labor a widespread issue in the industry.
The physical toll on workers, especially women, is profound. Prolonged hours of bending, lifting, and carrying heavy loads lead to chronic spine injuries, debilitating pain, and long-term health issues. The absence of mechanical assistance exacerbates these risks, leaving workers vulnerable to lifelong disabilities.
Children, too, are drawn into the cycle of labor, handling tasks inappropriate for their age and physical development. Instead of attending school, they spend their days working in hazardous conditions, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and lack of education.
This industry’s dependence on manual labor highlights the urgent need for intervention to safeguard workers' health, eradicate child labor, and ensure fair conditions for those who sustain this labor-intensive trade.
Heavy labour in the numerous brick kilns are mainly done by women. In particular before the production season starts and the brick kilns and storage places need to be sorted. Entire families migrate to work and live during the seanon at the brick kilns. The brick production season runs during the dry months from December to May. All labour is done manually. Amin Bazar brick kilns are the main supplier site for the booming contractuction sector in Dhaka, and also the cause of extreme air pollution in the capital, Bangladesh, December 2015
Gabtoli brick storage, Dhaka, May 2015
Brick kiln workers, Barera fields, Bangladesh, May 2015
Boy making the space free to store bricks, Gabtoli, Bangladesh, October 2014
Brick stock pile, Dhaka suburb of Gabtoli, Bangladesh, October 2014
Brick workers, Chindurmuti brick kiln, Kurigram, Bangladesh, October 2014
The majority of the brick kiln workforce are internal migrants from rural areas moving to Dhaka during the brick production season from December to May. Often entire families migrate when they can live around the brick fields and provide work for all including young children. Bangladesh, May 2015
Sorting bricks at the Kishamutpurnakar brick kiln, Kurigram, Bangladesh, October 2014
Loading the boat with finished bricks, Amin Bazar brick kilns, Bangladesh, May 2015
Most of the brick kilns in Amin Bazar are only accessible by boat during the begining of the rainy season. Brick transfer on the Buriganga river to Gabtoli, one of the transport hubs of Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 2015
Removing finished bricks from the kiln, Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 2015
Brick kiln worker, Chindurmuti, Bangladesh, October 2014
Central part of the brick kiln used to harden the brick, Kurigram, Bangladesh, October 2014
Carrying coal to the heart of the brick kiln. The fire in the brick kiln will be maintained throughout the 8 months production period during which air pollution in and around Dhaka reach alarming levels, Amin Bazar brick kilns in Dhaka suburbs, Bangladesh, December 2015
Brick kiln worker, Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 2015
Manual labour in Mirpur , Dhaka, May 2015
Brick kiln storage, Koya bazar in southern Bangladesh, May 2015
Using the heat of the brick kiln to cook, Amin bazar kilns, Bangladesh, May 2015
All brick transfer from fields to kilns and ultimately the storage places are done manually. Amin Bazar brick fields near Dhaka, May 2015
Central place of the kiln where the bricks are burned for days, provoking heavy gas emmission and contributing substantially to the heavy air pollution of Dhaka during the winter, Amin Bazar brick kiln, Bangladesh, May 2015
Amin Bazar brick kiln near Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 2015
Loading the boat with finished bricks, Amin Bazar brick kilns, Bangladesh, May 2015,Bangladesh, May 2015
Bringing raw material into the brick kiln, Mymensingh in northern Bangladesh, May 2015
Barera brick kiln near Mymensingh, Bangladesh, May 2015
Entire families across all generations are working on the brick fields, Barera village near Mymensingh, Bangladesh, May 2015
Brick kiln worker in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, May 2015
The fire in the brick kiln will be maintained throughout the 8 months production period during which air pollution in and around Dhaka reach alarming levels, Amin Bazar brick kilns in Dhaka suburbs, Bangladesh, December 2015
Hard Labour is not reserved for men only, high numbers of women end up working on the brick fields and carry extremely heavy loads resulting frequently in severe spinal cord injuries. Mymensingh brick kilns, Bangladesh, May 2015
A worker at the end of the day in front of his shelter on the brick fields in Barera near Mymensingh, Bangladesh, May 2015
Workers resting on top of the brick kiln, Mymensingh, Bangladesh, May 2015
Moving bricks from the brick kiln across the river to the storage place, Koya Bazar brick kiln, Bangladesh, May 2015
Amin Bazar brick kilns are the main supplier site for the booming contractuction sector in Dhaka, and also the cause of extreme air pollution in the capital, Bangladesh, December 2015
Brick kiln workers carrying heavy loads, Khulna brick kilns, Bangladesh, May 2015
Hard Labour, Koya Bazar brick kiln, Bangladesh, May 2015
Women working in the brick fields, Gabtoli, Bangladesh, December 2015
Brick storage place, Koya Bazar, Bangladesh, May 2015
Clay diggers, primary material for brick production, Amin Bazar brick fields, Bangladesh, December 2015
Clay digger, primary material for brick production, Amin Bazar brick fields, Bangladesh, December 2015
Brick kiln worker, Koya Bazar near Khulna, Bangladesh, May 2015
Brick kiln workers, Amin Bazar, Dhaka, December 2015
