In the shadowy predawn hours, the air in Ashulia, a small industrial town on the outskirts of Dhaka, is thick with anticipation.

The rhythmic hum of sewing machines will soon fill the air, heralding another day for the world's second-largest garment-exporting nation.

But before the machines roar to life, a different kind of movement begins – the quiet exodus of thousands of garment workers from their homes to the factories that dominate the landscape.

As the first rays of light break through the smog-heavy night, Rubiya Akter, a 30-year-old garment worker, emerges from a tin-roofed shack.

Her calloused feet hit the dusty path, each rhythmic step a testament to years behind a sewing machine.

Rubiya's day begins long before the sun dares to peek over the horizon, a brutal schedule dictated by the relentless demands of the fashion industry.