Are we backtracking on our commitment to gender equality?
The interim government needs to quickly set an agenda that reaffirms its commitment to upholding women's rights.
3d ago
In conversation with Syeda Rizwana Hasan: ‘It’s been most challenging to reach those marooned in Feni’
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the environment ministry, speaks with The Daily Star about the ongoing floods.
3m ago
Did we have to pay such a heavy price for this verdict?
The verdict is in. The Appellate Division through its observations has recommended that quotas be restricted to seven percent: five percent for freedom fighters’ descendants, one percent for ethnic minorities, and one percent for people with disabilities.
4m ago
Geof Wood: 'I feel my identity is tied up with Bengal'
Geof Wood talks to Sushmita S Preetha of The Daily Star about his latest book, in which he explores the dilemmas of being an academic immersed in the processes of development and the intersection between policymaking and activism.
9m ago
The violence of silencing a rape survivor
That justice for rape survivors is a mirage in this country is no news, with a miserable conviction rate of three percent in rape cases.
9m ago
‘Human rights obligations are not an imposition from the outside’
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan speaks with The Daily Star about the recent general election, shrinking space for dissent, and the pressing need to address human rights concerns in Bangladesh.
10m ago
The price we pay with each deleted word
With each new term of the ruling regime, and each new provision or law, we have learnt a bit more of self-censorship.
10m ago
March 3, 2016
What do we celebrate when we celebrate 'special' days?
We are quite happy, thank you very much, to superficially engage with an issue and then sweep it under the rug as soon as the day is over.
February 21, 2016
In the land of the Bangalis
AS we celebrate another Amar Ekushey, we remind ourselves of the importance of language in forming and defining our identities. We
February 18, 2016
You can't pass a donkey as a horse!
AT the risk of sounding “anti-growth” and “anti-exports” – and heck, of damaging the “image” of the country (because, apparently,
January 28, 2016
Whose city is it, anyway?
The impassioned descriptions all collide against, but dissolve into each other – the past, present and future, stories of pain, aspiration, fear and anger compete against each other to be heard.
January 13, 2016
A fifteen-year-old wait
We must confront the uncomfortable truth that beyond paying lip-service to the “ideals of secularism and tolerance” (if that!), we have done precious little to show we care about the Hindu population of this country.
December 10, 2015
Breaking of spirits and bones
Forty-four years since independence, must we remain a caricature of a dysfunctional, postcolonial state where law enforcers...
November 26, 2015
Do we really remember?
We have been taught contradictory versions of history that are outright lies at worst and simplistic at best, to the extent that we now either disavow the atrocities of the Liberation War or use “Muktijuddher Chetona” as a pretext for justifying repressive measures and silencing dissent.
November 20, 2015
Is the parliament above question?
Wouldn't any criticism against the government or any form of dissent then be reason enough to have an NGO's registration cancelled? In addition, going by Sengupta's comments, are we to accept that the TIB – and by corollary, any other NGO – can never make a comment on the parliament?
November 14, 2015
WOMEN WAGING PEACE
When she first landed in earthquake-ridden Haiti, Rockfar Sultana Khanam, commander of the first ever all-female UN peacekeeping
October 7, 2015
LIVING WITH INJUSTICE
We were “assured” after the attack that the in/action of the law enforcers would be “looked into” and “action taken against anyone found negligent of his duties”. However, till now, no administrative or legal action has been taken against any person
X