Society

Safe Motherhood Day: Unite for women’s rights for respectful care

On May 28, Bangladesh is celebrating yet another Safe Motherhood Day. It is time we promoted safe motherhood as an initiative to advance women’s basic human rights, and not just to reduce morbidity and mortality.
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.
Role of Zakat in poverty alleviation

Poverty is a complex and multidimen-sional issue, and will continue to be a problem for us in the near future. To combat poverty, countries have taken different measures.
Has anything changed after Nusrat?

The horrific murder of Nusrat Jahan Rafi, a student of Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa in Feni, had caused a massive outcry from the public and intensive media coverage.
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.
Ending child marriage is good economics

Recently, I came across a news report that is quite shocking and concerning. A UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) study reveals
Relearning our history through the stories of women

My mother likes to tell a story about the time a colleague brought his son to work and introduced her as his boss, to which the child scrunched up his face and said,
Why our religious leaders must condemn Nusrat's murder

Any Bangladeshi with an iota of humanity should still have their conscience reeling over the heinous murder of Nusrat, the brave girl
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,
If I reject your proposal, will you let me live?

Her death has sent out a clarion call. But we don't know how long it'll take for the call to make a veritable change. How long the call will keep blaring in the air. Our hearts remain suffused with questions.
To help women entrepreneurs, men should first change themselves

When I set out to research masculinity and entrepreneurship in Dhaka, I expected to hear the occasional sexist remark. Instead, I was
Let Nusrat's demise strengthen our demand for justice

Nobody can survive after suffering 75-80 percent burn injuries. Despite this fact, we had hoped that Nusrat Jahan Rafi would somehow survive, by a miracle perhaps.
'Ga gheshe daraben na'—A timely revolution

Just a few days ago, while standing inside a packed elevator in the building of a renowned telecom company, a thought crossed my mind. For a moment, I wondered: what if I could hold a placard in my hand, asking all men to stand at a distance from me?
Prioritise fire management in Dhaka city

I had taught at a College in New York City for six years—which used to administer fire drills every month. During the drills, each person was required to leave and evacuate the building.
A Fire Next Door

Before the amber of the last one turn to ashes and forgotten memories, a new flame leaps up in another neighbourhood of the city, revealing, once again, cracks in the façade of our tilottoma.
When teachers are threatened for revealing the truth

During the last days of March in 1971, when there was fear among everyone at Dhaka University—the teachers, students and general staff—that the university could be attacked by the Pakistan military anytime, Jyotirmoy Guha-thakurta, a professor of English department of the university, was the provost of Jagannath Hall.
The daily adversities of garments workers

The boom of export-oriented garment business created jobs for millions of mostly young female workers in Bangladesh, many of who moved from rural areas to urban centres like Dhaka.
The other side of social responsibility

Ever since I returned to Dhaka in 2011, I have seen how fast Dhaka has been growing. The GDP growth rate has been phenomenal but, with economic wealth, multifarious challenges have come to the fore: land- and river-grabbing, tree-felling, and endless construction changing the landscape of the city.
Monsters on the loose

I still remember one morning in 2006 when we escaped death by an inch, as one of those popular “city” buses struck the rickshaw I was in with my mother and sibling. Had it rolled its wheels a little more, I wouldn't have been able to write an op-ed piece today.
How do we improve maternal health of garment workers?

The influx of millions of female workers to work at the garment factories has created unique health challenges, issues and needs that have mostly remained unstudied and unaddressed.
Girls in Math Olympiad: What's holding them back?

A few years ago when I was in the United States and contemplating a return to Bangladesh, I was worried about the challenges of
Will yaba smuggling end with the surrender of some godfathers?

Some of our news outlets have termed the yaba smugglers as “yaba dealers” or “yaba traders.” I am not a grammarian. So I am not judging whether it is grammatically right or wrong to use the words “dealers” or “traders” to mention the yaba godfathers. I am talking from a general perspective.
How successful will the anti-drug campaign be?

The geographical location of Bangladesh puts the country in an odd position when it comes to the drug and narcotics epidemic.
Women's safety in public transport: A case for the would-be city father

In Dhaka, a woman travelling—whether walking on the street or using public transportation—faces a near-constant threat of sexual harassment.
Why I do not support the killing of 'rapists' by 'Hercules'

Recently, the bodies of three "rapists" have been found shot to death with culpatory notes hanging around their necks. On January 17, the first body was found by the police in Savar,
The power of the youth

The year 1991 is a significant one in our history. By the beginning of that year, General Ershad had been forced out of office and it is in 1991 that parliamentary democracy was formally restored.
Building a society where girls feel safe

In the film Taken (released in 2008), Kim, an American 17-year-old girl, was abducted in Paris during her European tour. Her father Bryan Mills was a retired CIA field agent.
The formula of victim-shaming must be ripped to shreds

In my impressionable childhood, my working parents often used to leave me in the care of our adolescent house-help. My day, for the most part, would be spent in her company.
Tara Mia and the story of a warped conscience

We live in a world where things are constantly happening. Every day seems like an assault on our mental stability because of the nature of the events that take place, more so for a writer who has to go through the unpleasantness of trying to connect the dots and produce an analysis of them.
Protecting the constitutional rights of senior citizens

According to “World Population Prospects: the 2017 Revision,” the number of older persons (those aged 60 years or over) is expected to more than double by 2050 and more than triple by 2100, rising from 962 million globally in 2017 to 2.1 billion in 2050. Globally, the population aged 60 or over is growing faster than all younger age groups.