On the first day of April in 1930, a law came into force in the then Indian subcontinent restraining child marriage.

This beautiful rhyme by poet Jotindra Mohan Bagchi famously captures the Bengali sentiment for bokul phul, a very small sweet-smelling white flower.

The media is abuzz with reports on the Rohingya issue. The statement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights validating claims that Myanmar's security forces have committed mass killings...

The frighteningly regular reports of dowry-related violence, often resulting in the death of women, demonstrates how persistent and overpowering the culture of dowry is in this country. The amended Dowry Prohibition Act 2017 approved by the Cabinet on January 30, 2017 is a noteworthy step in reiterating the illegality of this practice. But in order to wipe it out effectively we must truly delve into the dynamics that still keep the dowry custom alive.

International migration is a complex phenomenon dealing with overlapping issues relating to the human rights of migrants, mixed migration flows, international protection, smuggling and trafficking, as well as other push and pull factors affecting migration.

A few years ago, a Mexican journalist learnt from a government press release that 47,515 people were murdered between 2006 and 2012 in the country, with victims and killers reportedly related exclusively to the drug trade.

As a country, we started exploring the issue of female workers' migration quite late. The issue is compounded by our conservative and patriarchal society, lack of education, and family pressure and responsibilities.

On February 1, 2016, the Cabinet of Bangladesh government approved its draft Citizenship Bill 2016, paving the way for it to go through the Parliamentary procedure at a suitable time. That procedure is yet to be initiated.

Framing a new citizenship law is currently under active consideration of the government of Bangladesh. In early February 2016 the Cabinet had approved, in principle, the draft citizenship law.

Today marks the international day for migrant workers. It is a day not only to celebrate the contribution of women and men who go to distant lands, away from their family and loved ones for long periods of time, it is also a day of reckoning of how best we, as a nation, can protect and promote the rights of those workers.

Despite the political turmoil that engulfed much of the first two and a half decades of Bangladesh's entry into the 21st century, we have fared remarkably well in terms of development and economic growth.

Our current history begins from the emergence of independent states in societies which till then had been under colonial rule.

Recent global events such as the wars in Syria and Iraq, Brexit and the election victory of Donald Trump in the United States among other things have exposed the extreme vulnerability of international migrants in all parts of the world.

As this year's 16 days of activism on violence against women draws to a close, it is a good time to reflect on why we need this annual push.

The affected families gathered not only to share their grief and anguish but also – more importantly – to seek justice and to raise their collective voice to demand the state brings back their loved ones and punishes the perpetrators of the heinous act.

This was what a renowned paediatrician said to the parent of a four year old child. The comment illustrates the level of frustration and helplessness about the air pollution of Dhaka.

The historic CHT Peace Treaty has been experiencing the brunt of the negative aspects of our national political characteristic.

In a world where as many as 700 million women were married off before they could reach adulthood, we'll only contribute to that statistic by keeping such loopholes in a law which is supposed to protect the childhood of our girls.

Rakhine is burning. The hapless Rohingyas are being butchered, children are thrown into fire, women are disrobed in public before being gang-raped and houses are looted, torched and razed.

In 1960, three sisters, now famously known as the Mirabal sisters, were brutally assassinated on November 25 in Dominican Republic for their role in opposing the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo.