Bangladesh, Fashion, Fashion industry, Garment workers, Global development, Life and style, Poverty, Social exclusion, Society, South and Central Asia, Women, Women's rights and gender equality, World news
Woman making Christmas jumpers for UK turns to sex work to pay bills
Story of garment worker’s ordeal in Bangladesh, where she works in a factory producing clothes for brands including Tesco, Matalan and Next, shines light on low factory wages
Every night, Ruby Rafiq* lies awake on the cold, hard floor of her small room, worrying how her family will survive the winter. Curled up next to her under a large patchwork blanket donated by a charity is her 13-year-old daughter, Maya.
The mother of two waits for her children to fall asleep before quietly creeping out of the house. Wrapped in a shawl, she heads to the market down by the Buriganga River in Keraniganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka, and waits for men to approach her.