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
November 10, 2018
November 10, 2018

The problem with the Road Transport Act

Much controversy surrounds the new Road Transport Act 2018 which has been the subject of massive protests by road transport workers who perceive the new law to be unduly harsh on them.

September 25, 2018
September 25, 2018

Women-only bus is not the solution

Early in June this year, a women-only bus service named Dolonchapa was launched by Rangs Group in Dhaka with a view to giving women a “safer” and “easier” travel option (The Daily Star).

August 7, 2018
August 7, 2018

Judicial activism for constitutional torts

On 9 August 2018, the Appellate Division upheld a High Court verdict that ordered Bangladesh Railway and Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence to pay Tk 10 lakh each as compensation to the parents of Zihad, a four-year boy who died after falling into a shaft.

June 26, 2018
June 26, 2018

Purchasing impunity in the name of 'compensation'?

On 19 June 2018, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a speeding SUV near Mohakhali flyover in Dhaka.

May 29, 2018
May 29, 2018

Road deaths and injuries: The role of tort law

Bangladesh is hardly any stranger to road deaths and injuries but this past month has been particularly poignant since certain road injuries and subsequent deaths in Dhaka have garnered nationwide attention due to their tragic and gruesome nature.

April 17, 2018
April 17, 2018

A classic tort of negligence

On 29 March 2018, a seven year old child was killed due to a lift malfunction in her own home in Shantinagar, Dhaka. The victim,

March 27, 2018
March 27, 2018

US-BANGLA AIR CRASH: A tort law perspective

The recent tragic air crash of the US-Bangla Flight BS211 in Kathmandu, which killed more than 50 passengers and injured around 20 others, is rife with potential liabilities in tort law. This incident can, hence, serve as yet another reminder about the burning necessity of having an effective legal framework for tort and the opportunity cost of not having one. Indeed the tortious implications of the US-Bangla air crash

March 14, 2018
March 14, 2018

A logical antidote

Currently, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN Women Bangladesh are jointly drafting a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP) with a view to implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for increasing women's participation in efforts to maintain peace and security. The NAP shall aim to ensure women's meaningful participation in the prevention of conflict

January 29, 2018
January 29, 2018

Banning child marriage in light of religion

The Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 which allowed girls under 18 and boys under 21 to be married off under “special circumstances” was undoubtedly the country's most controversial law of 2017.

December 23, 2017
December 23, 2017

Zero tolerance for fatwas that violate human rights

On December 12, 2017, Bangladesh Police arrested Abu Musa, an imam of a local mosque in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia district, for issuing a fatwa prohibiting women from going out of their homes to work in farm fields.