‘Misogyny embedded in the legal system has to be addressed’
Advocate Sultana Kamal is a human rights activist and the founder president of Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (msf). In this interview with Afia Jahin of The Daily Star, she speaks about what perpetuates violence against women in Bangladesh, and the steps that individuals, institutions and the state can take to combat it.
25 November 2021, 18:00 PM
Think twice before giving in to fast fashion
The character of Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep, from the 2006 film “The Devil Wears Prada”—albeit exaggerated for dramatic effect—was the boss of all our nightmares.
8 November 2021, 18:00 PM
Tighten your purse strings, save the planet
This is my moment of truth. When last month I got to know that there was a day called World Thrift Day (that is, today), I immediately decided I had to write about it.
30 October 2021, 18:00 PM
What does it say about our society when a child bride sets herself on fire?
Upon reading the news headline for the incident I am about to discuss, I only felt a momentary, dull pain in my gut or thereabouts. Because while it is a shocking incident that would rob you of hope, the elements of the story are all too familiar to us all.
22 October 2021, 18:00 PM
All screen and no play?
We are all familiar with the sight by now: everyone in a family—adults, children, parents—sitting together, but each concentrating on their personal device, usually a smartphone or a tablet.
12 October 2021, 18:00 PM
It’s more than just a haircut
It’s part of human nature to favour symmetry, uniformity, and evenness over something that is uneven or “disorganised.”
4 October 2021, 18:00 PM
Third in gender, last in line?
Weighed down under the stacks of reports about crowding at vaccination centres, shortage of vaccine doses, and the rocky mass vaccination drives, is the story of how a section of Bangladeshi population is suffering from bias and a lack of access to the jabs, leaving them unprotected against the coronavirus.
30 September 2021, 18:00 PM
Are we headed towards another dengue crisis?
Against all odds (read: the non-existent movement restrictions and the maintenance of health safety guidelines almost becoming a practice-as-you-please thing), it seems the rate of Covid-19 infections in Bangladesh is finally going down, and hopefully nearing the “safe” and much-desired mark of five percent or less.
20 September 2021, 18:00 PM
Who made men owners of the night?
People’s tendency to drag back any individual who attempts to break away from dominant social norms or expectations has existed in all units of society since time immemorial. We just have a term for it now that rolls off the tongue easily.
8 September 2021, 18:00 PM
The shunned, invisible cleaners of our city
As a child, my weekday dawns consisted of walking five or so minutes to the spot from where my school bus would pick me up.
24 July 2021, 18:00 PM
Our disturbing apathy towards domestic worker abuse
There are certain topics which, when in the news, garner a lot of attention and opinions from varying perspectives.
5 July 2021, 18:00 PM
Prolonged school closures to have repercussions on child protection
The Covid-19 pandemic has undone a lot of progress towards ending child labour, globally. What can Bangladesh do to recover some of that progress?
11 June 2021, 18:00 PM
In the ‘free’ digital space, how does our bigotry persevere?
The internet and its cloak of anonymity seemingly avails us with freedom on all counts. What people see of one’s life on their social media profile/s, for instance, is what they want people to see.
24 May 2021, 18:00 PM
Our silent, resilient saviours
At a time when most people are struggling to choose between life and livelihood, there are members of our society who have been going out of their way to help make life easier for those who have been afflicted by the virus.
9 May 2021, 18:00 PM
‘Second wave of the pandemic’ woes, etcetera
The second April of the pandemic is here, and it seems we are back to square one. Just as most institutions were planning to reopen (all of them intending to exercise proper health guidelines, one hopes) after having lost a year to the Covid-19 pandemic,
6 April 2021, 18:00 PM
The business of being a female online entrepreneur
Think of something you want. Anything. No, really. Be it a set of frosted cupcakes, a piece of jewellery, or homemade sushi rolls.
22 March 2021, 18:00 PM
The real and intangible threat of online child harassment
Enough time has finally passed for us to collectively reflect on how much, and in what ways, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed our usual lives. Students, in particular, have encountered a drastic shift in how they experience their education—and as a result, the internet.
13 March 2021, 18:00 PM
Is the priority list of vaccine recipients being maintained?
Now that the few crores of Covid-19 vaccine doses are finally arriving in Bangladesh in batches of tens of lakhs (and many more have been promised to be on their way soon), a new challenge has presented itself for those in charge of distributing the vaccines.
20 February 2021, 18:00 PM