Geof Wood: 'I feel my identity is tied up with Bengal'
Geof Wood talks to Sushmita S Preetha of The Daily Star about his latest book, in which he explores the dilemmas of being an academic immersed in the processes of development and the intersection between policymaking and activism.
3m ago
The violence of silencing a rape survivor
That justice for rape survivors is a mirage in this country is no news, with a miserable conviction rate of three percent in rape cases.
3m ago
‘Human rights obligations are not an imposition from the outside’
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan speaks with The Daily Star about the recent general election, shrinking space for dissent, and the pressing need to address human rights concerns in Bangladesh.
4m ago
The price we pay with each deleted word
With each new term of the ruling regime, and each new provision or law, we have learnt a bit more of self-censorship.
4m ago
Govt's priority is to access, not protect, our personal data
The government has heavily invested in purchasing surveillance equipment and enhancing the capacities of various agencies to use them over the years, but it hasn't shown an iota of the same interest in what should have been its priority—protection of citizens’ data
5m ago
You can’t quell workers’ hunger by opening fire on them
Rather than assuage the workers by announcing a respectable wage, the wage board has essentially fuelled workers’ outrage and made a mockery of the wage negotiation process
6m ago
Why the delay in declaring minimum wage for RMG workers?
Will the wage board and our policymakers truly hear the stories of backbreaking work and heartbreaking debt of the garment workers, who have kept the economy going even at its worst phases?
7m ago
August 20, 2015
“We need to separate speech that is offensive and insulting from speech that actually leads to imminent threats to people's lives and well-being”
David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, shares his observation on Bangladeshi blogger killings and state responsibility, the distinction between hate speech and offensive speech, and surveillance in the name of national security, in an exclusive interview with Sushmita S Preetha of The Daily Star.
August 9, 2015
"Human rights violations against adivasis are increasing at an alarming rate"
In recent years, the government's insistence that there are no adivasis in Bangladesh has given rise to a lot of outrage amongst
July 25, 2015
SUNDARBANS UNDER THREAT
Ask anyone, and they can tell you that you cannot put a price on the Sundarbans. The people who live in and around the Sundarbans,
July 22, 2015
LAND IS PRICELESS ADIVASI LIVES ARE NOT
Purti Munda, the forefather of Mahasweta Devi's adivasi hero, Chotti Munda, had lamented how, wherever he goes, however remote the place, someone appears right away – “Whites-Bangalis-Biharis” – to snatch away his land, and along with it, his peace of mind.
July 15, 2015
Opinion: The hell inside the orphanage
When the wounds of Rajon’s murder from torture are still fresh in the nation’s psyche, social media is, yet again, inundated with horrifying images of two children being beaten mercilessly at an orphanage.
July 6, 2015
WHO GETS TO DEFINE YOU?
Imagine a life of never fitting in, of constant ridicules and derisions, of being shunned by your own family, of being denied jobs and a chance at a “comfortable” life, of being harassed and assaulted, often sexually, because of who you are.
June 12, 2015
For the Kalpana Chakma I know and the one I never will
I never knew Kalpana di – not personally anyway -- the fearless indigenous activist who was snatched away from us by “mysterious” powers-that-be 19 years ago, when she was only 20 years of age.
May 16, 2015
Digital Sexual Harassment in Digital Bangladesh
In a society where violence against women in private and public spaces goes unpunished, is it any wonder that sexual harassment in the cyber domain continues to be firewalled?
May 12, 2015
Consuming Unspeakable Tragedies
During Rana Plaza, the media interviewed dying workers “LIVE” and went into the collapsed building with heavy recording equipment despite warnings that they might hurt survivors.
April 20, 2015
See no evil, catch no evil
If police response during the attack was abhorrent, how they reacted to it subsequently was even more disgraceful.
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