Update 10 May: more than 1000 people are now known to have died in the disaster.

Soroptimist International President Alice Wells has called on women around the world to take action to prevent future disasters like the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, last week. Over 500 people died and left more than 2000 were injured when the building, which housed a clothing factory supplying international companies, collapsed. Factory owners appear to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers in after a crack was detected in the block. 

"This is an international issue where we must raise awareness", said SI President Alice Wells, in a letter of condolence and support to SI Dhaka.  "Women are very often the consumers of the goods made by these workers.  Many of the clothes made in the Rana Plaza factory were for international companies to sell in stores worldwide.  We can make a difference by being more pro-active, engaged consumers about where the clothes and other products that we buy come from.  We need to show the companies from whom we purchase clothing and goods that we care about where and how these products were produced."

85% of garment-workers in Bangladesh are women and young women in particular make up the majority of those working in sweat shops worldwide – lack of education and  opportunities make them particularly vulnerable to exploitation. 

 Arifa Rahman of the Soroptimist club in Dhaka spoke of the need to learn lessons from the tragedy and take steps to improve working conditions for women around the world.

"The exploitation, the harrassment, the dangerous and poorly paid job situation and the lack of safety and security have to be highlighted so that society can sit up, raise questions and make ethical decisions and in some way wield pressures on the powers that be. And let us vow that we will not let this tragedy slip into oblivion. We need to spearhead action from here – not only in Bangladesh but all over the world –  wherever women are exploited due to sheer socio-economic necessity."

In a message to members of the 3000 Soroptimist clubs worldwide, President Alice Wells calls for continuing efforts to support the education and empowerment of women and girls, in order to give them more choices on how to earn a living and making them less vulnerable to exploitation.

She also encourages Soroptimists to sign the Change.org petition asking companies responsible for this disaster to take responsibility and ensure justice for the workers.

Read more about the Rana Plaza disaster (Guardian website).

Soroptimists devastated by Bangladesh Disaster (SIGBI website)