Nahela Nowshin

On the occasion of the National Road Safety Day today, noted filmmaker Catherine Masud talks to Nahela Nowshin of The Daily Star about her own journey of navigating the justice system, what the recent student-led road safety movement has achieved, and the shortcomings of the recently passed Road Transport Act 2018.

Bangladesh is now among the top five countries in Asia when it comes to internet usage, according to Internet World Stats, a website that compiles international population, travel, and internet market research statistics.

A recent World Bank report—an environmental analysis of Bangladesh—should erase any remaining doubts about the critical level that environmental pollution has reached in the country.

The sentencing of two Reuters journalists to seven years in prison by Myanmar should enrage anyone who cares about basic human rights and press freedom. Not only was it a gross miscarriage of justice but also yet another reminder of Myanmar's obstinate determination to prevent or punish anyone for unmasking the brutality unleashed on its Rohingya minority.

A divorce takes place every hour in Dhaka. This was one of the startling findings in an exclusive report published by Prothom Alo recently. The report states that in the last seven years, the divorce rate application has increased by a massive 34 percent throughout the country according to data compiled by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

In the more than four decades since independence, Bangladesh has made remarkable strides on many fronts. It is no longer the “basket case” as Henry Kissinger, former US secretary of state, had dismissively remarked about the newborn country in 1971.

It is believed that there are more displaced persons in the world today than at any other point in history. According to the UNHCR, there are 68.5 million people around the world who have been forcibly displaced from their home. The UN Refugee Agency goes on to state: Among them are nearly 25.4 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.

What's your take on the FY19 budget, particularly in light of an election year?

Cultural heritage refers to the traditions, values, beliefs, and sense of belonging in a community. It's the shared bond that helps shape our identity. It's the material things, and the tangible and intangible both.

For thousands of Bangladeshi Hajj aspirants every year, the entire process, starting from registration to obtaining a visa to getting on the plane, turns out to be a nightmare.

Almost seven months into the latest round of influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh— around 700,000 have arrived since August 25 of last year—Myanmar has done next to nothing to show that it is serious about the implementation of the repatriation deal signed with Bangladesh and the safe return of the Rohingya.

Whenever we talk about the state of education in Bangladesh, the age-old debate about English versus Bangla medium re-emerges with regard to quality of teaching, affordability, imparting knowledge about Bengali culture, etc. But while many of the broader concerns have merit, the less obvious aspects of the current education system that deserve some serious thinking are often overlooked. The importance of the mother tongue in education is one of them.

Some crimes are so horrific, so brutal, so barbaric in nature that it is impossible for these acts to not make any human being feel outraged and disgusted at the world we live in. Sexual violence against children is one such unforgiveable crime.

Living costs in Dhaka have soared so high that it's not just low-income groups struggling to make ends meet—the middle class is feeling the squeeze too.

For many animal species, diversion is necessary for survival. The killdeer, for example, is famous for putting up quite a show.

Dhaka dwellers don't need official data to tell them just how suffocating and dangerous the air they are breathing in is.

The Bangladesh government has been globally lauded—and rightfully so—for welcoming with open arms, once again, the persecuted Rohingya people with whom the country has a checkered history. The Rohingyas came to Bangladesh in droves in 1978, 1992, and the 2010s.

It is oftentimes a lie that we tell ourselves to either ignore or mask the hideous inequalities and injustices that make Dhaka one of the most dangerous cities for girls and women to live in.

It is often said that if you want to know the truth about the world, ask a child. Perhaps, it's an unconditioned mind that lets a child see things for what they really are.

Eradicating modern slavery in a country marred by entrenched poverty is no easy task, especially when the majority of it occurs in the private economy—in our private homes and private businesses.