Asia Begum, a 50-year-old woman from a village in Bangladesh. Each day, she rises before dawn to work at a local chili pepper mill, toiling up to 12 hours for less than $1 (Taka 122). The pandemic closed factories, leaving her struggling to survive, but with the lockdown lifted, she returned to work with renewed determination, laboring seven days a week, hoping for better days. Despite her meager earnings, Asia carries herself like a queen, her head held high and heart full of dreams.
