Taqbir Huda

'JUSTICE' IN PRACTICE

Taqbir Huda is a human rights lawyer and a columnist for The Daily Star, writing on social injustice, accountability and legal reform. He can be reached at [email protected].

Why the DU student harasser got bail

Bangladesh law penalises harassment, with jail and fines under key provisions.

1m ago

‘We must challenge not just regimes, but also oppressive legal machinery'

Human rights lawyer Taqbir Huda talks about the current state of human rights in Bangladesh and the potential way forward.

4m ago

Remembering Sigma Huda’s trailblazing activism against gender-based violence

Sigma Huda’s legacy for the empowerment of women, be it at the home, on the roads or in the courtroom, lives on.

4m ago

How medical evidence is used to discredit rape complainants

The need for corroborative or medical evidence to prove rape (and therefore these two rules) violates the global standards set by the UN and the WHO.

2y ago

A company’s negligence killed 44 people. What price will it pay?

Another brutal reminder that worker safety is last on our list of priorities for our progressive and developing country.

2y ago

National Legal Aid Day: Three ways to improve our national legal aid system

Today marks the National Legal Aid Day, which was introduced by the government in January 2013, in an effort to increase public awareness of national legal aid services.

2y ago

Where is our independent prosecution service?

Although we frequently hear calls for justice whenever a grievous crime takes place, the role of public prosecutors, i.e. the very individuals who conduct criminal cases in court on behalf of the state, is seldom—if ever—discussed.

3y ago

Where can domestic violence survivors actually go?

On this year’s International Women’s Day, which is being celebrated across Bangladesh and with much grandiosity in Dhaka, I want us all to think of Yasmin Ara, a young woman from Satkhira, who has been thrown out of her home by her mother-in-law a few months after losing her husband.

3y ago
October 8, 2021
October 8, 2021

Three months after the Hashem factory fire, has there been any ‘justice’?

Today, October 8, marks three months since the deadly Hashem Foods fire, which claimed the lives of at least 54 people. Out of those killed, at least 17 were children. Out of these 17 children, at least 11 were girls.

July 29, 2021
July 29, 2021

Why is child labour still legal in Bangladesh?

What were you doing on a Thursday morning when you were 14?

July 14, 2021
July 14, 2021

We should stop calling acts of corporate manslaughter ‘accidents’

For almost 24 hours last week, the Hashem Food factory in Naryanganj, where hundreds of workers are employed, was up in flames.

July 11, 2021
July 11, 2021

Why is the price of killing a worker only Tk 2 lakh?

Fifty two workers have so far been declared dead as a result of the horrific fire that engulfed the Hashem Foods factory in Narayanganj, where famous products such as Shezan juice and Nocilla spread were produced.

July 5, 2021
July 5, 2021

The long road to the repeal of Section 155(4): Will questions about a rape survivor’s ‘character’ finally be banned in court?

On June 30, 2021, the law minister announced in Parliament that the government will finally be introducing legislation to remove Section 155(4) of the Evidence Act 1872—which has long allowed defence lawyers to raise questions about a rape complainant’s character, and therefore moral police them in the name of cross examination in court.

May 5, 2021
May 5, 2021

‘I have no one else’: How an eight-year-old girl lost her entire family at once

In the early hours of Monday morning, when most of us were tucked comfortably in our beds, eight-year-old Meem lost her entire family after the speedboat she was on crashed and overturned in the middle of the Padma river, drowning and killing 26 passengers.

May 1, 2021
May 1, 2021

Why is a worker’s life only worth Tk 2 lakh in our labour law?

On Labour Day, I am reminded of 22-year-old Jewel Hossain, who in January this year, was conducting his evening shift at a polythene factory when the machine malfunctioned and the blade ripped through him and gouged one of his eyeballs out.

April 28, 2021
April 28, 2021

Six requirements under Bangladesh labour law that can help prevent the spread of Covid-19

As we face an upsurge of Covid-19 cases, and with the national lockdown being lifted, the need to prioritise effective preventive measures has never been greater.

April 24, 2021
April 24, 2021

Why are Bangladeshi workers still dying preventable deaths?

Today marks eight years since one of the deadliest industrial disasters in modern history killed at least 1,132 workers and injured more than 2,500 others in our own backyard.

March 16, 2021
March 16, 2021

Corporate negligence killed a mother and son. Do we even care?

On the afternoon of March 3, 2021, three-year-old Ruhit was playing in front of his residential building located inside the Provita Fish Feed hatchery, when he fell into a large septic tank that had been left uncovered.