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| Volume 11 |Issue 17 | April 27, 2012 | |
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Letters An Unpunished Violation The article titled “An Unpunished Violation”, which was published last week shed light on a common phenomenon that remains visible to the public eye even to this day. 'Eve teasing' appears to be an issue which has been persisting in Bangladesh for ages! However, the voices of many victims were either not heard or treated unsympathetically back in the old days. Instead, it was women who were always blamed. It is great to know that the modern generation has the voice to protest against such injustice done to women. However, I feel that certain issues, such as pornography, facebook, fake accounts to embarrass young girls and even exaggerated rumours and gossips, accelerate harassment, eve teasing and even humiliation of women should be covered. Apart from that, the article seemed the most interesting to me. I hope it brings about a change in the perspective of the patriarchal society of Bangladesh. It is about time that women get the respect they deserve. Tarin Anwar *** Your thoughtful cover story on the above subject on “Teasing or Terrorising” was very fascinating and informative, and provided food for thought to people who want to know about the lifestyles of modern men and women. Unfortunately, the cover photo staged for the Star did not quite match its elegance and values. The inside photos are quite acceptable for learning the details of teasing or terrorising in our country. My only request to females above 18 is to follow the Bengali traditional dress not to allure the evil-doers in public places. The main cause of this social disease is ill-gotten money and the unethical pattern of lifestyle of our womenfolk. Like our mothers, aunts or grandmothers, they are requested to wear Bengali graceful dresses at all times. Be simple and be safe without make-up. Abul Ashraf Noor
To Mita Dear Mita, in your reply to “Mr Lovebird” on 6.4.12, you have only dealt with the subject of the girl's age. While this, of course, is very important, it isn't the whole story. Even if “Mr. Lovebird” were in love with someone closer to his age, it wouldn't be right, because he has a wife and a child. Instead of advising him to find someone closer to his age, why don't you advise him to leave the girl and go back to his wife and child? Lucy H F Holt
Working Mothers I would like to thank the writer of the special feature titled “The Working Mother” published on April 13. It was a very important article that showed the actual scenario of our working mothers in the country. The writer says that there is a law which allows six months maternity leave for government employees and four months for private sector employees. My opinion is that a mother is a mother, irrespective of whether she is a government or private sector employee. Why does our government make such discriminatory laws? Six months is a fair amount of time for exclusive breast feeding of newborns, which is a precondition for the physical and psychological development of a child. So this basic right of maternity leave for six months will also give us a healthy future generation. The other thing is that when discriminatory laws exist and basic rights of women are denied by the employer, the women of our country feel discouraged from doing any job. It limits their participation to a great extent. I strongly believe that their spontaneous participation at every level is a must for bolstering our economy. The writer also narrates the sufferings of the working mother if there is no childcare facility at the work place. Childcare facilities are a must for exclusive breast feeding and the happy and secure upbringing of the children. So our government should take this matter very seriously and implement the existing laws as stated in the Labour Act 2006 to create a congenial atmosphere for the working mother. Md Musfikur Rahman Jony Eroding our Culture Pahela Baishakh marks this nation's eagerness to portray its Bengali way of life. Globalis-ation, technological changes, migration, and other factors are considerably eroding national and cultural identities. In this situation, one must first be a good nationalist before trying to be an internationalist. But now we are trying to be an internationalist. It is because we do not have love, commitment or attachment to our country. In this respect, we can say that if the Americans can have their own way of life, the British and the French theirs, then there are enough reasons for Banglad-eshis to aspire to preserve and promote their own way of life and living. If we want to hold onto our culture, we must sustain our culture rather than just celebrate it for only one day, Another problem is that some people or groups believe that the culture we celebrate in Pahela Baishakh is Hindu culture. But we can say that whatever the culture is – it might be the Hindu, Islamic or Bengali culture – now we believe it to be our own. So it should be practiced in our day to day life. It is high time that necessary steps are taken to protect our culture. Otherwise it will vanish one day. Saiful Islam Kaisar
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