Information minister rejects Amnesty Intl’s statement on Digital Security Act

Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud today rejected Amnesty International’s statement over the Digital Security Act saying the statement of the human rights organisation is “motivated”.
27 July 2021

Persons with Disabilities: Their needs being constantly ignored

The government has an extreme lack of respect for persons with disabilities, as their needs have been constantly ignored in many spheres of life, said eminent economist Prof Abul Barkat yesterday at a virtual discussion.
26 July 2021

'No response from govt on persecution of Kishore, Mushtaq'

The United Nations Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan today said that she has not received any response from the government regarding the persecution of cartoonist Ahmed Kishore or writer Mushtaq Ahmed.
26 July 2021

Social media regulation threatens rights, UN warns

The United Nations on Wednesday warned that public and private actors in countries around the world, including Bangladesh, are intervening against online content in ways that curtail rights and muzzle criticism.
15 July 2021

It’s more than just lack of food

To live off the streets of Dhaka is not merely living in hunger, it also comes with an immense lack of security. For the “tokai” -- a child waste picker -- living in the capital, hunger and malnutrition is almost the least of their concern, with much bigger dangers lurking around all the time.
10 July 2021

Space shrunk more than ever: speakers

Squashed between cyber-harassment and the surveillance state, the space for freedom of expression on the internet has now shrunk more than ever, said speakers at a virtual discussion yesterday,
8 July 2021

HC questions words used in divorce notices

The High Court yesterday questioned the use of certain offensive words in a Talaq (divorce) notice.
27 June 2021

Who’s listening?

In December 2015, tea workers from Chandpur and Begum Khan Tea Estates in Habiganj protested the threatened seizure of land they
12 September 2019

The link between violence and mental health

Ismail* is about 16–years–old, and lives in Korail bosti with his mother. He comes over once a week to help me clean my house.
1 August 2019

Innocent until found protesting

In December 2018 and January 2019, workers from Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) industry went on spontaneous mass protests and strikes around major industrial belts in Dhaka.
21 March 2019

Pulling the weight of the world

Fifty-year-old rickshaw puller Rafique Miah was struggling hard to peddle his rickshaw on the uneven roads of Mirpur. Looking exhausted, bearing testimony of his daylong hard labour, sweat trickled down his face on a winter evening in January. Still, he was doing his best to move forward, all the while wiping his brow with his torn gamcha (towel).
7 February 2019

Childhood choked by brick kilns

On January 25 this year, 13 workers of a brick kiln in Cumilla died in their sleep when a coal laden truck flipped over their shanty. Among them, seven were regular students of two high schools in Jaldhaka upazila of Nilphamari district. They were lured into working in the brick kilns for some extra cash.
31 January 2019

Subarnachar rape: What NHRC said happened and what really happened

On the night of December 31, a day after the election, a mother of four was gang-raped in Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali. The rape is widely being acknowledged as election violence.
17 January 2019

Unheard, Unseen, Unrecognised: The Plight of Dhaka's Waste Collectors

Every day at 7am, Limon (not his real name), a boy of around 15, gathers a group of eight teenagers at a tea stall in Rayerbazar slum. In the tea stall, where they have a quick breakfast of a banana and a bun each, they are not particularly welcome.
17 January 2019

Why Are Workers On The Streets?

Since January 6, garments workers in Mirpur, Uttara, Ashulia and Savar have been protesting on the streets (as of this issue going to print on January 9). Earlier, prior to the elections, garment workers had also protested in different industrial areas, in limited capacities. Why are workers protesting now—three months after the new minimum wage was declared?
10 January 2019

Why Are Workers On The Streets?

Since January 6, garments workers in Mirpur, Uttara, Ashulia and Savar have been protesting on the streets (as of this issue going to print on January 9). Earlier, prior to the elections, garment workers had also protested in different industrial areas, in limited capacities. Why are workers protesting now—three months after the new minimum wage was declared?
10 January 2019

Sexual harassment of RMG workers

Women's participation in the ready-made garments sector, and the importance of this sector to national exports and economic growth has contributed to changed perceptions of women's economic and public role and has provided women themselves with more options.
13 December 2018

Only authoritarians love refugees

In a breathtakingly racist speech, he warned that Europe could turn “black”and have its culture and civilisation overwhelmed by the “barbarian invasions” of migrants from across the Mediterranean.
29 November 2018

When teenagers are sent to adult jails

Hridoy Gazi is an inmate at Kashimpur Prison in Gazipur. He is also an eighth-grader according to his family, and a 13-year-old according to his birth certificate.
29 November 2018

Crushing the spirit

The minimum wage of garments workers has been declared at Tk 8,000 per month—and it seems, at this point, it is a signed and sealed deal. City life is going as is.
11 October 2018