Dr Zaman, this year’s recipient of the Ekushey Padak, guided the audience to use the Pink Shelf regardless of gender, “I will also say that a man can be a greater feminist than a woman.

Zines are a new name for an old thing. They are the revolutionary pamphlets of the 1930s, and the underground student manifestos of the ‘50-’60s. They are a distant relative of the tattered choti mags. There are many other examples from around the world of self-published, self-distributed, and often dangerous reading material.

The zines were undeniably an expression of raw emotions, with some participants having made art focusing on their mental health and inner turmoils