Sign in Subscribe

Photo Essay: Rana Plaza 12 years on

Piyas Biswas in Dhaka

New Internationalist

• 5 min read
Photo Essay: Rana Plaza 12 years on
Nilufar Yasmin (38) holds a photo of her younger self, once published in a magazine, inside her modest bedroom in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Yasmin used to work at Ether Tex Ltd on the sixth floor of Rana Plaza. The injuries she suffered in the collapse and the long road to recovery changed the course of her life. Her husband left her to raise her two children alone. She now works as a day labourer to make ends meet.

Twelve years ago today, the Rana Plaza building collapsed in Savar, Bangladesh, killing 1,134 people and injuring more than 2,500. Many of the victims were workers making clothes for Western retailers.

It was the worst industrial accident in the history of the garment industry. And for many survivors and their families, the pain and trauma from 24 April 2013 are still fresh.

According to a 2023 report from ActionAid Bangladesh, more than half of the survivors are still unemployed and almost 90 per cent haven’t worked for more than five years.

Workers have continued to push for better rights and have made gains in recent months. Bangladesh is currently the world’s second largest exporter of garments, behind China. Around 80 per cent of the country’s four million garment workers are women.

On 23 September, a landmark agreement was made between factory owners, workers and Bangladesh’s new interim government. Authorities agreed to all 18 of the workers’ demands which included a new minimum wage, lunch and night shift allowances, extended maternity leave and improved childcare facilities.

For weeks, workers had been protesting over pay and unsafe working conditions, particularly in industrial hubs like Ashulia, an area near Dhaka, prompting many factory shutdowns.

The government has also formed 11 reform commissions to improve labour rights and social protection, including compensation schemes for Rana Plaza survivors.

Today, the Rana Plaza site still sits empty. New Internationalist spoke to some of the survivors of the disaster, as well as the families of those who died, who described the impact of the collapse on their lives today.

— Words and photography by Piyas Biswas

Yanur Akhter (27) sits with her son in their modest bedroom in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 7 April 2025. Twelve years after surviving the Rana Plaza collapse, she continues to live with severe injuries and chronic pain from spinal and nerve damage. Her mother, also a factory worker, didn’t survive the disaster. Akhter is unable to work and relies on medication and her husband’s limited income to survive. PIYAS BISWAS

Mohammad Shahidul Islam (34) was working on the sixth floor of Ether Tex Ltd in the Rana Plaza complex. He was trapped under debris for nearly six hours before being rescued. The trauma left deep psychological scars and he continues to struggle with mental health issues. PIYAS BISWAS
Rubi Akhter (57) holds a photo of her late daughter Morjina Akhter at her house in Savar on 16 March 2023. Morjina worked at New Wave Bottom Apparels Ltd on the fourth floor of Rana Plaza. After the building collapsed, Rubi rushed to the site and waited in agony for 17 days until she found her daughter's lifeless and disfigured body among the ruins. Since then, Rubi has been living alone, carrying the weight of her grief. ‘If she were still alive, I wouldn’t be struggling so much,’ she says. PIYAS BISWAS
Renu Begum and her husband, Ali Ahammed, hold a photo of their late son, Robiul Islam Manik, at their house in Savar on 13 March 2023. Manik, then 27, worked as a machine mechanic on the seventh floor of Rana Plaza. He was the sole breadwinner for his family before he died in the collapse. ‘If my son were still alive, our struggles wouldn’t be so hard,’ said Begum. PIYAS BISWAS
Mohammad Khokon (41) worked as a sewing operator on the seventh floor of New Wave Bottom Apparels. He suffered a serious injury to his right hand and is now unable to return to factory work. He now earns a living by selling vegetables in Savar to support his wife and two children. PIYAS BISWAS
Jasmin Akhter (36) worked as a sewing operator on the fifth floor of Phantom Tec Ltd. She was rescued nearly five hours after the building collapse, sustaining injuries to her waist, spine, and legs. Despite multiple treatments, her health continues to deteriorate. After her child was born a year later, her husband left her. Now living in a single rented room in Savar, she works as a domestic helper to survive. ‘I can neither live a healthy life myself nor give my child the life they deserve,’ Akhter says. PIYAS BISWAS
Context, Action & Info (please edit accordingly)

📰 Read more from New Internationalist about the compensation scheme awarded to Rana Plaza workers in 2013

👉 Follow the Clean Clothes Campaign, a worker-led network of unions and labour organizations fighting to change the working conditions in the fashion industry.

❓Q&A Can I criticize fast fashion without sounding out of touch? Find out what our Agony Uncle says!

✊ Get involved by sharing your memorial messages at Rana Plaza Never Again

Read the latest issue of New Internationalist

Like what you've read? Support us with a tip

Looking for more? Listen to our podcast The World Unspun