Iqra L Qamari

The fault in our idea of progress

Puzzling positive developments in our economic indicators, which hardly delineate the real socioeconomic conditions of the people in Bangladesh, are not new phenomena.

An apology long overdue

On a symbolic visit to Kigali, Rwanda this year, French President Emmanuel Macron recognised France’s extensive role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, asking for the “gift of forgiveness” from those who survived the atrocities—without, however, putting forth an official apology.

For the Ones Who Stay Behind

There's a life waiting to be cherished and lived here too.

A love letter to the women in the kitchen

Gender stereotypes like the notion of women belonging in the kitchen may seem trite and overdone, but these continue to have an effect in a culture that devalues women by asserting that it is their sole duty to cook.

Why must the dogs go?

In the midst of ungodly incidents of street harassment, countless potholed roads, ridiculous standards of drainage systems, a stunning lack of proper garbage maintenance and hundreds of other issues that Dhaka residents have to deal with every single day, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has planned to ameliorate the plight of the city-dwellers by rounding up around 30,000 stray dogs and dumping them in isolated areas outside the capital.

Youth Policy Forum’s Budget 2020 Dialogue

On June 6, Youth Policy Forum’s ambitious series on budget dialogue culminated in its much-anticipated final event, “Youth meets Leaders.” Standing true to the name, six distinguished experts of political and non-political backgrounds gathered to analyse the policy proposals presented by teams of young specialists from YPF.

Of panic and pandemic

Remember that cruel, old joke about the bear and the two men—the one where upon being attacked, one of them, panicky, starts hurrying with the intention of outrunning the grizzly carnivore, while the other, appearing more relaxed, says to the other, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, just you”?

Save the environment, not posters

With the Dhaka City Corporation election ready to roll out next month, the capital is brimming with a palpable air of electoral mood.

The shepherd of floating dreams

I sometimes think of Dhaka as an ancient twisted folk tale—one with a mystical, rusty lamp with a faux genie.

When the monsters came out of the closet

It is the eve of Eid-ul-Azha. A little girl goes to a neighbour’s house to apply mehendi on her hands. A skip in her step.

Fighting a different kind of war

Being a millennial, finding the time and desire to indulge in the act of “simply doing nothing” is a grinding process. The Dutch have even coined a term for this luxury: “Niksen”, which, in plain English, translates to “enjoying idleness” and which, in plain reality, is an almost impossible task for Gen Y.

Privacy violations, the rise of Big Data and Orwell’s premonition

In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, the fictional omniscient entity “Big Brother” seemed like an absurd possibility even a decade back. For an all-knowing being to exist in a society that had access to a constant flow of information was not common in everyday narratives of the time.

Breaking the backbone of a nation

Childhood recollections eventually start resembling the bright, vivid pages of a favourite storybook. We turn those pages someday,

Raising our boys to be good, healthy men

“Boys will be boys.” This carefully constructed sentence consists of a mere collection of words. It dominates our dialogues, reflecting the mindset that governs our society, our homes and the misogynistic atmosphere that we breathe.

Keanu Reeves Wholesomeness personified

The internet is an eccentric place. It can applaud a particular individual one sunny morning and rebuke another on the next, and both scenarios can get pretty obsessive to a certain extent. These days, it has decided to get a new boyfriend and the netizens are not only in agreement

Producing the graduates of tomorrow

Visualise a sunny convo-cation day—students beaming with pride and their four years of strenuous academic struggles finally summing up to them tossing their graduation caps as a symbolic gesture to commemorate the end of their undergraduate life.

Game of Thrones: An allegory or an escape?

The word “Dracarys” has the power to burn entire cities to the ground with scathing dragon fire in HBO’s epic fantasy saga Game of Thrones. Even off-screen, the Valyrian term has had an impact on millions of fans around the globe.

Precious childhood lost in the streets

Dhaka, a city of cacophony that reverberates from its belligerent streets which carry the clash of a million stories every day. Amidst cars honking, buses screeching, people cursing, vendors trading, the shuffling sound of pedestrians and the din of everyday life, the sound of a boy, begging for a few takas with his hand outstretched, gets muffled.

Friends Drifting Away

The sense of losing a friend is similar to the utter loss of having your favourite “tong” shut down. The tin-shed recluse, right around

Dear Parents, please stop fighting

Ashraf jerked awake from the same recurring nightmare he has been having for quite some time now. He woke up to muffled raised voices in the middle of the night coming in from the next room.

How a girl should get ready

From the beginning of time immemorial, it has been established that females take an exasperatingly long amount of time to get ready before venturing out.

Earning that Salami you deserve

With Eid right around the corner and excitement brimming in everyone young and old, it sadly has lost a bit of its exuberant essence for those of us who are trying to adult. Eid gives us yet another example of how growing up is a horrible phenomenon. You know where I am getting at, don't you?

The Sims - Bangladeshi Edition

Have you ever felt the need to feel omnipotent? Well, then you must have enjoyed or still enjoy (it's okay, we don't judge) the invincibility stature while playing this life simulation game, “The Sims”. I still remember the sheer power I used to feel surging through my veins as I controlled the lives of my Sims, influenced their moods, or drowned them in the pool because why not. While taking my final exam the other day, a brilliant question struck me. What if this game was set in Bangladesh?