Aasha Mehreen Amin

It is not always that we see a politician making comments that criticise misogyny and bigotry.

How is it that we live in a society where a woman must endure humiliating attacks from another woman and her male cohorts in a public place for the clothes she chooses to wear?

If things are bad, there must be a good reason for it.

Experts and road safety activists scream themselves hoarse calling for the basics.

Apparently, only the majoritarian population experience hurt sentiments – minority communities have no sentiments to be hurt.

Could our grossly unequal society be to blame?

For most guests of honour at seminars, inaugurations or book launches, if they are VIPs, being on time is unthinkable. The norm is to arrive at least an hour later than the stipulated time, while the other guests and participants huff and puff with exasperation and then speak well over the allotted time.

Stumbling across a post on the meaning of “Faraaz”, I was taken aback by the qualities attributed to this name – “someone full of love”, one who “creates balance and harmony for anyone lucky enough to be called his friend”.

But not because of the logic-defying stunts in AJ's latest movie venture, Din: The Day. It's because of Ananta Jalil, the human being.

The recent eruption of political activity, and hence political news centred on city corporation elections has again livened up the dull, drab political stage of recent times.

It may seem like an odd assortment of items to be afflicted by the inflationary fever currently in circulation, but following the basic rules of economics—when demand goes up, with existing supply, prices will go up in a free market

Food prices have been keeping us awake at night, making some of us seriously rethink our diets.

The adviser to the prime minister on private industry and investment, Salman F Rahman, recently expressed his dissatisfaction about the way our airport in Dhaka has been handling passengers, referring to allegations of staff members taking bribes and harassing them.

In the US, being Black or just a person of colour is enough to get one killed or arrested by a cop, merely for being at the wrong place at the wrong time—or even the right place at the right time.

Why is it that, no matter how many times we have experienced something unpleasant, we continue to do the exact same things we did before, expecting a different outcome?

Bengalis are well-known for being unusually driven by emotion, a trait that has brought about many great things—our right to speak in our mother tongue, our right to be independent.

As ritualistic as it may be, we must keep talking about the murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, even though there is nothing new to say—or precisely because of that.

Airports are the most fascinating places in the world. This forced congregation of total strangers from all corners of the world, rushing off to destinations as exotic as Zanzibar or Casablanca—isn’t it just wonderful?

Is it really 2022? How did 2021 go so fast? Was it because we had such high expectations and ended up facing one daunting catastrophe after another, that we didn’t realise that the days had turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into a whole year?

Feminist icon, educator, and author Kamla Bhasin passed away on September 25, 2021, at the age of 75. The Daily Star pays tribute to her rich legacy by reprinting an interview first published in 2016.