Letters
Save Dhaka
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Photo: zahedul i khan |
Dhaka,the city in which we live and the city we love, is very different from what it used to be, when it served as the capital during the Mughal regime. At that time, the city was recognised for its minarets, domes and abundant greenery. Now, the same city with mounting problems has been labelled as the second most unliveable city in the world. The roads have become dumping grounds for garbage as a result of which one is met with a strong pungent odour as soon as one steps out of one's home. Roads are waterlogged after heavy rainfall and they are often destroyed endangering our lives. The corrupt ruling parties do nothing to have our roads fixed. The sewerage, manholes, waste management and water supply systems are horribly mismanaged. There is a limited budget allocated for renovations of the capital. Many commercial factories and mills are set up in the densely populated residential areas leading to accidents such as the Nimtoli tragedy.
The government needs to allocate a hefty amount of money for the betterment of the metropolis. It also needs to implement the DAP (Detailed Area Plan) as soon as possible and minimise corruption.
Md Mowalamul Islam
University of Dhaka
Quota Controversy
We witnessed different types of changes in our education policy over the years. In fact, the country's primary and secondary level education systems have had a bumpy ride because of the implementation of various different strategies. However if these strategies are successful, we will be content. The government should make changes in the policy keeping in mind that we do not want our students to become guinea pigs. We have faced many hurdles throughout our educational development. Many controversies have risen; the quota system being one of them. There is a mass controversy and extensive debate about the quota system in the Bangladesh Public Service Commission, which is considered unconstitutional by the experts of our country. Hence the decentralisation of the administrative system is necessary. The quota system in the guise of nepotism should be removed.
Ahsan Uddin Tohel
SUST, Sylhet
Women's Persecution
Nowadays, women's persecution is a familiar issue to us all. Not a week goes by that we don't see at least a few stories in the media about torture or discrimination toward women. Thirty-nine years have gone by since the liberation war but the dream of our freedom fighters to have a country where women will be treated as equals and be free from all kinds of violence, harassment and discrimination is yet to be fulfilled. What on earth is happening to our society? Although there are people working for women's rights, they seem to be failing to achieve their goal. Men in our society are just not prepared to show their mothers, sisters and their wives the respect that they deserve. The recent scandal involving Probha, the famous model and Rajib is a prime example of this. If this goes on, we will not be able to live in a society where women share equal rights as men. I think people all over the country should come together to protest against incidents like this. They can take initiatives like:
-We should take part in awareness raising activities such as distributing IEC (Information, Education and Commu-nicating) and BCC (Behavior Change Communi-cation) materials to educate the masses on women's rights.
-Parents should take full responsibility to counsel their children about this issue.
-Parents should monitor the daily life of their children so they behave in a respectful manner towards their peers regardless of their sex.
-Community workers such as, teachers, service-holders, imams, businessmen, social actors and students can arrange a sensitisation meeting on women's rights issues with the members of their communities. If respected members of the community take this initiative, it can be very effective.
-People should avoid the practice of blaming the victims before identifying the underlying causes of the problem.
-Community leaders should create an enabling environment where women can live with men as equals with complete freedom.
Md Nasir Uddin
Institute of Bangladesh Studies
University of Rajshahi
Go Tigers!
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Photo: Star File |
To be honest, we are stunned by the performance of our national cricket team. We are over the moon as the tigers have completed an incredible clean sweep against the Kiwis, a giant in the world of cricket. What makes it more significant is that we have clinched the series without our two key players. It was definitely a team effort, but it is the superman Sakib who made the difference with his phenomenal leadership. We did expect a better performance from the Tigers but it was beyond our wildest imagination that they would beat the Blackcaps 4-0 before the start of the series. The credit of course goes to the whole team and its management. This victory will raise the confidence level of our players for the upcoming World Cup series, which is just three months away. So it is important for the tigers to keep up this brilliant winning streak.
We believe that it's time to move on with more confidence towards becoming a powerful team in world cricket. In the recent past our team was subjected to humiliating comments from the giants of the cricket world. If we want to prove them wrong, we must be consistent in our performance. Hopefully from now on the tigers will be better able to live up to our expectations.
Zubair Ahmed
University of Chittagong
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