Fear, loss and isolation
Humans are social creatures. While all animals have a need to communicate, none have quite the same ability or need to organise themselves into communities the way humans do.
2y ago
Citizens’ participation in formulating health policies can be a game changer
In the olden days, in the city best known as a democratic city-state, where, arguably, the concepts of citizenship and democracy emerged, there was something called Ecclesia. Here,
2y ago
Finding the fingerprint of creation
I started to write this on the night that is deemed the holiest night of the holiest month of the year by Muslims.
3y ago
Reflections from a conversation with the Dalai Lama
Is forgive-ness a phenomenon that is learned or is it something that some of us are inherently better at than others?
4y ago
The burden of the ‘Eves’ of this world
"EVE-TEASING”, the colloquial term for public sexual harassment in use despite directives being issued by the High Court about changing it to a more appropriate term, alludes to the monotheism’s (mainly biblical sources) creation story concerning Adam and Eve.
4y ago
A personal tribute to Nusrat Jahan Rafi
Mf first visit to a madrasa school for female students was in July 2014. We met in a large rectangular room, with a faint damp stench,
5y ago
On Power: A high unaccounted for
Last year, an English daily published a report that the police arrested at least 21,883 suspected drug-peddlers and addicts across the country between May 18 and June 21 as part of the anti-drug drives.
5y ago
October 26, 2017
The lost purpose of education
The University of Dhaka has long prided itself as the premier educational institution of our country. Since its establishment in 1921, it has come to be known as the oldest modern university in Bangladesh, making significant intellectual contributions to the country providing education to over 30,000 students.
October 13, 2017
How do traffic jams affect our state of mind?
My five-year-old niece and I were practising drawing. She drew a sun and a moon and extended the rays of the sun a little further than necessary. I asked her what the rays were falling on and she drew a street.
October 11, 2017
A reality far from poetic
There is something very beautiful about being in transition, being stuck in between. Whether it's in transit at an airport, a city that's somewhere between the east and the west, dawn or dusk, when the day is either deciding on a beginning or an end, or a woman in her adolescence, on the journey to transforming into a woman from a child.
September 28, 2017
Bodies as battlegrounds
The goal in genocidal rape is not simply to hurt people or to have sex. The goal is Group Destruction. Sexual violence is not simply an auxiliary tool employed to advance this goal, but given the nature of rape and sexual torture, it is the ultimate weapon.
September 19, 2017
Humanitarian aid must be planned better
“I am at Balukhali camp in Ukhia, the situation is far, far worse than what I have seen on the media, I just talked to a woman who is 9 months pregnant, no idea where her husband is, had not one thing to eat today."
September 13, 2017
Inside a sadist's mind
Raped on a bus, killed and thrown off on the street. Raped on Eid. Raped at a party. Head shaved by family members after rape. We read, we vent, we discuss, we forget, we are reminded again the next day. And worse things keep happening.
August 31, 2017
The ugly face in the mirror
Maybe 15-year-old Rima will not be seen as a child by some, given the ambiguity that surrounds the legal age of consent. Maybe her suicide, after being accused of immoral behaviour, will not be seen as a crime perpetuated by society but rather something she did to herself.
August 21, 2017
Legal system needs to be more child-friendly
One of the most pressing and least addressed problems facing the nation currently is the increasing violence against children. Some children, such as those engaged in domestic work, are more vulnerable to abuse than others. Shagufe Hossain of The Daily Star talks to Salma Ali, Executive Director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association, to further explore the issue.
August 16, 2017
The invisible cost of roads and bridges
The perpetrators would not be held accountable because as soon as the deed was done, they had the luxury of leaving the area. Their job gave them mobility, a freedom that was paid for by others.
August 6, 2017
Mental illness: A heavy burden on the labour market
Interestingly though, most people in Bangladesh would not consider mental health a disease. It raises hope, therefore, that the conversations about mental health, are beginning to occur in the context of general health issues as has been on the occasion of World Health Day on the 7th of April this year.
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