Society
Looking back at the 50 years of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad
With the whole world entangled in the coronavirus pandemic, we have no other option but to shut down all work and fight to contain the deadly disease.
Changing the shy world of adolescent girls
Back in 2017, we had an opportunity to build a small and experimental toilet in Jhalokati, with the simple intention of helping adolescent girls in a rural school who had no real toilet to avail.
The Magic of Scripts
WhileE grow-ing up in a Tripura community of Khagrachhari in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, an ethnically diverse and geographically distinct region of Bangladesh, I became familiar with a myth that explained why the Tripuras did not have a script or writing system of their own.
Yin and Yang of the Brahmaputra
A lone structure is taking shape on a featureless, grey horizon. Two figures work under the beating sun, on an otherwise deserted landscape. One digs, the other carries loads of earth on her head.
Lessons to still learn from the ‘Meena’ cartoon
The generation of the 90s where I belong to has grown up with a very popular group of cartoon characters: Meena, Raju, and Mithu.
A man’s share in ‘women’s work’
Society imposes different roles and responsibilities on men and women based on the gender of an individual which at times impede the development of individuals.
Why are social safety net programmes so crucial?
I have been asked by several close friends recently, why we need social protection measures to address poverty in Bangladesh—a country which has the world’s largest microcredit programme. One might ask: is it because the microcredit programme is not fulfilling its promise of alleviating poverty and social protection is therefore going to replace it?
Is banning student politics the solution to campus criminality?
The death of Abrar Fahad epitomises the need for tolerance towards dissenting voices. He is a martyr to the cause of free speech. Employing his brutal death to silence political dissent and to eliminate political rights on campus is wrong. He did not deserve such betrayal.
Redefining maleness in a man’s world
The myriad stories of sexual assault that flood my Facebook feed are reflections of the sexism and misogyny that are deeply ingrained in our social fabric.
Protect languages, protect peoples
The images of indigenous people are exhibited by the Bangladeshi government for various purposes. A video entitled “Beautiful Bangladesh: Land of Stories” and made by the Bangladesh Tourism Board also features the water festival of Marma communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) to attract tourists to Bangladesh.
Student agitation: Signs of egalitarian aspirations
On the morning of July 24, 2019, a few photos of academic buildings of the University of Dhaka surfaced on social media. The caption of the photos read: “Do not pay heed to the rumours and attend your classes and exams.
Rumours and mob killings: What are the underlying causes?
Many of us have been left stunned after witnessing a series of mob attacks on people being accused of kidnapping and murdering children.
How elite capture of society prevents equality
From Socrates to Sartre, since the dawn of time, it has been more or less accepted, although not always implemented, that the tools for transformation should be made available to people from all walks of society.
Breaking harmful taboos in society
Bangladesh has been witnessing an alarming rise in rape cases, particularly child rape cases. Between April and June this year, child rape cases increased by 102 percent from the previous quarter; the number of child rape cases filed so far in 2019 is around 500. This makes me wonder whether men are becoming more violent or just switching over to children as they are more vulnerable and easier to target.
It’s on us to end rape culture
The truth is, we, as a society, have failed: we haven’t found a solution to the pervasive rape culture in Bangladesh—over 630 women have been raped in the last 6 months (Ain O Salish Kendra)—because we haven’t been addressing the problem in the first place.
Breaking the backbone of a nation
Childhood recollections eventually start resembling the bright, vivid pages of a favourite storybook. We turn those pages someday,
Literature, kerosene and Professor Mahmood
The moment the news of students pouring kerosene on a professor came to my attention, I instantly thought it must be fake news. Either that or I was hallucinating. Because the thought of pouring kerosene on a professor and trying to light him on fire—an attempt to murder—is indeed shocking.
Think before donating to orphanages
While working in Liberia during 2013-2014, I along with the team had an opportunity to support the government in implementing their deinstitutionalisation policy.
