The newly legislated Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 (CMRA) of Bangladesh legally permits child marriage (between male below 21 and female below 18) under a “special circumstances” provision (SCP) when it is deemed in the best interests of the marrying children

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

For all the differences South Asia's countries insist on, they have depressingly similar attitudes when it comes to human rights. Over

We have been striving to evolve as a progressive society – one that frowns upon discrimination and stands up for victims of injustice, regardless of their gender or background. In truly embracing such ideologies, we must learn to perceive mental issues as illnesses – no more shameful than an ailing lung or liver – and combat them with the correct treatment and, above all, sensitivity.

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.

In May 2016, eight-year-old Molly (not her real name) was brutally raped by an 18-year-old. She was taken to hospital in a critical

Police’s brutal assault on the activists and journalists begs the question, what called for this extreme use of force? From when does it take a group of fully armoured policemen to restrain one unarmed civilian?

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.

This week marks the sixth anniversary of the killing of Felani by the Border Security Force (BSF) of India. Felani, a 15-year-old girl, was

Bangladesh should be wary of sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia. This is a concern brewing in the wake of the Kingdom's recently announced “Saudi Vision 2030” in which Saudisation of jobs was earmarked as one of the top priorities with the aim of weaning the private sector companies off expatriates.

Child marriage law in Bangladesh has recently come under wide scrutiny from national and international human rights activists and organisations.

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.