Human Rights
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.
Human Rights / 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.
BURN THE WATCHTOWER / 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.
Human Rights / When digital rights become a human right
Private university student Sumon (not his real name) had already gone to bed when the police came to his bachelor pad, last month. The cops were on a “block raid”—a security exercise that Dhaka Metropolitan Police executed over several areas in the city in the aftermath of the Safe Roads movement waged by student protestors.
Migrants Rights / Held captive in one's own mind
The last two years have witnessed thousands of Bangladeshi female workers, who were tortured, abused or cheated, return home from the Middle East with painful memories.
A day in the police station
“Did you see my son Sadman? Please take a look at this photo. Did you see him being taken to the police station? Is he in this police station?” A woman, in her early fifties, was desperately appealing to the sentries stationed at the gate of Shahbagh police station at 1pm on August 6, 2018.
human rights / Trump is now targeting families
Deportation of undocumented Bangladeshis from the USA is nothing new. In the last 10 years, the country issued deportation orders for 7,364 Bangladeshis. The period during Bill Clinton's presidency particularly saw over a thousand Bangladeshis being marked for deportation each year.
human rights / Jailed and forgotten
Forty-year-old Azaher Ali is in a fix and isn't sure how he should react. He has just met his daughter and his grand-daughter for the first time in years. His daughter was just 11 months old, the last time he held her. Today, she's almost 20 and has a child of her own.
7 human rights recommendations
In mid-May, the Human Rights Council, a United Nations body, met with all member nations to discuss their human rights situation, and Bangladesh was one of them. The process is known as Universal Periodic Review. Bangladesh was given recommendations by other states on how to improve the human rights scenario. We accepted quite a few—167 to be exact. We also said that we are going to think about supporting 2
What does it mean to celebrate International Women's Day in Bangladesh where violence against Jumma women is normalised?
I am not going to parse my words over this one. Bangladesh has practically decriminalised the rape of Jumma women. By “decriminalisation”, I do not mean it from a legal perspective but rather that, by creating an environment of impunity for criminals, the state has made it politically and socially acceptable for anyone to rape Jumma women and not face any consequences for it. This decriminalisation, I argue, is part of a larger political strategy of dispossession of the Jumma people from their land.
When There Is No Warrant
On the afternoon of December 29, 2017, Nurnabi Sarkar, a senior reporter from Jamuna Television was having tea at a stall near the capital's Technical bus stop in Mirpur. Sarkar was waiting for his aunt, who was due to arrive from Sirajganj. All of a sudden, two police constables came to him and said that their senior official was asking for him.
What is happening in Rangamati?
A lot has had happened since word spread that one Marma girl was allegedly raped, and another molested, by members of security forces last month. The claims led to a confusing chain of events involving state forces and rights activists which rapidly escalated the crisis. On one hand, a court ordered the girls to be handed over to the custody of their parents, against their wishes. On the other hand, the queen
Rape of Marma sisters
On January 22, two teenage sisters of a Marma family were allegedly raped and sexually assaulted by security forces in Orachhari
The ones who never returned
The end of 2017 witnessed the return of a number of individuals who had disappeared in the second half of the year. Most of the 15 individuals, who had been missing since August last year, either returned to their respective families in the last three months or were shown as arrested based on various cases.
Wounds yet to heal
Thakurpara, an impoverished, tiny village of Rangpur district, houses around 50 extremely poor Hindu families, most of who make ends meet working as day labourers. Beside their lower socio-economic status, they are doubly
The benefits of oppression for the common man
As a proud Bangladeshi of the 21st century, I embrace the role of the oppressed. I credit my therapist for this—“Look at the silver lining,” she says, “focus on the positives”. So I do.
“Punish him, punish him!”
"I was so happy when I saw the madam of the house, I told her I'd do whatever she asked of me,” described Moyna. “She took me to a room and asked me if I wanted to shower after my long flight from Bangladesh.” Moyna said yes.
One year and counting…
Dizen Tudu wasn't always a calculative person. There was a time when he could work in the field under the sweltering heat all day and still have enough energy left in him to play with his three boys at home in the evening.