Society

Is DMP's action plan enough to fix our roads?

Apparently “inspired” by last year's safe road movement, the DMP has come up with yet another action plan to deal with Dhaka's anarchic—to put it mildly— traffic situation.
Corporal punishment was outlawed in 2011, but it still prevails

It's amazing how unhinged society can become if you don't pay attention to the smaller details and address them appropriately. Take for example violence in society. The majority of inhabitants of society detest and abhor violence.
Rise of the triple burden

At the end of the 20th century, the issue of women's empowerment and development was finally thrust into the limelight. Scholars identified lack of “economic power” as the primary cause of women's suffering and including women in the outside world by educating them and opening up the job market for them was thought to be a universal panacea. The accepted doctrine was that when women have economic power like men do, they can be independent and raise their voice in every sphere of society.
'Slaves of the sea'

Employment in fisheries and aquaculture around the globe has grown faster than the world's population. The sector provides jobs to tens of millions and supports the livelihoods of hundreds of millions.
Achieving SDGs and reducing urban poverty together

Bangladesh has performed significantly well in attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) compared to many other countries in the world. But over the last couple of decades, the country has undergone rapid and massive urbanisation—where currently 37 percent of the total population live in urban areas of which one third (around 2.4 crore) of people live in the squalor of slums, and this figure is expected to increase to around 4.5 crore by 2030.
The importance of learning English in Bangladesh

Right from the moment you step out of the Hazrat Shahjalal International airport in Dhaka, you notice that knowing Bangla is essential to your survival.
Let's not forget our social values

Social values form the basic foundation of a nation. The values define what is acceptable in a society and determine the behaviour of the people. Social values are however not static and can change over time based on what beliefs and attitudes people embrace as they move on.
Violence against women: A zero-tolerance issue

The lack of women's empowerment is a critical form of inequality. And while there are many barriers to empowerment, violence against women and girls (VAW) is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality.
Aritry's deafening cry for help

Aritry Adhikary—a young life cut tragically short. Her parents probably had never imagined that their daughter would make headlines for the reasons that she did.
Domestic violence: When society is an abettor

Things are not changing for women in this country when it comes to gender-based violence. Some recent studies and research findings have brought to light the fact that despite
An effective game-changer

Early in 2015, when political uncertainty and violence were plaguing Bangladesh, I flew to Bangladesh from Australia with a mission
Reinventing education

If you are still not alarmed by the grim predictions of our education system, let me apprise you of the current scenario.
Who will protect the rights of the patients?

Eleven-year-old Afreen Hoque Shristy, a student of Viqarunnisa Noon School & College, was admitted to one of the reputed hospitals in the city with Dengue fever on October 25, 2018.
When outrage becomes selective

It is with both despair and indifference that I have witnessed the episodes that have unfolded following the TV talk show in which barrister Mainul Hosein insulted journalist Masuda Bhatti by saying she was "choritroheen" (immoral), when asked tough questions.
Drug abuse must be treated as a public health issue, not a war

In June 1971, in a press conference, US President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse as the “public enemy number one.” This was a day after the publication of a ...
When values are dispensable

When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts,” said the world-renowned Tibetan leader Dalai Lama. Bangladesh today has a huge youth population, and they are our future.
The double standard of outrage

It started with a few women calling out their harassers in a world that refused to believe them. Now there's a wave of sexual violence and harassment allegations against powerful men all over the world. It is as if the floodgates have been opened and women have let out years of suppressed rage and trauma.
Changing how we see vocational education

Bangladesh has gone through both social and cultural changes during the past two decades. Things were very different for the youth in the 1990s compared to now.
The lingering problem of Dhaka's illegal parking

Amid the nationwide movement for road safety, many people in Facebook had been complaining about the problem of illegal parking in Dhaka. Many people shared photos of illegally parked cars and motorcycles on the footpath and on the road in different parts of Dhaka city.
Revisiting poverty reduction approach in Southern Bangladesh

Propelled by improvements in health and education, reduced vulnerability, and economic growth, Bangladesh is expected to leave the LDC category by 2024. The country has witnessed significant struggles to improve the well-being of its people.
Revisiting poverty reduction approach in Southern Bangladesh

Propelled by improvements in health and education, reduced vulnerability, and economic growth, Bangladesh is expected to leave the LDC category by 2024.
Making private universities more affordable

Education remains the cornerstone of success for societies around the world—with the recent quota movement in Bangladesh showcasing some of the ensuing tensions between various stakeholders within our growing economy.
Traffic jam: The ugly side of Dhaka's development

There was a time when commuters suffered traffic congestion only on the main city streets, but now it starts right from one's doorstep.
Not a fool's errand

There is an expectation that school is the setting where young people can learn and practice ethics and values. The reality is that society sets the boundaries of what schools can do. Does society make teaching values and morality through school a fool's errand?
Towards a 'broad enough view' of social media

Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook CEO, rarely speaks in public. But recently he spoke before US Congress for hours.
The quota movement signals an underlying discontent

The student protests that swept the country weeks ago were not just about the quota system in public jobs. As a whole, they should be interpreted as a major symptom of a much more complex disease: soaring youth unemployment that can have serious implications for the country's future.
A case for technological development in apparel sector

The government of Bangladesh is moving ahead with a plan to establish 100 Special Economic Zones by 2030.
The titanic effects of social norms

In an attempt to discourage a certain behaviour through the incorporation of social norms into the policy structure, policy-makers often, without malicious intent, and as an epitaph to their clamorous failure, reinforce the very behaviour they set out to discourage or eliminate.
Salvaging our higher education

An Economist Intelligence Unit and British Council survey in 2014 reported that Bangladesh had the lowest employability among university graduates in South Asia—nearly half (47) of graduates out of a hundred were unemployed compared to 30 out of 100 in India and Pakistan. There are methodology issues about the calculation. Even then, they indicate a serious problem.
'A' is for 'orange'

A is for apple, b is for bear, c is for cat... English spelling is easy enough at the beginning. It clearly deteriorates thereafter. Yet one must have extra sympathy for Bangladeshi students of English because for them, sometimes 'a' is for orange.