Human rights
HRW report details sorry state of immigration detainees in Malaysia
A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has detailed the damning state of immigration detention centres in Malaysia that house thousands of refugees and asylum seekers, listing claims of human rights violations and abuse
Pandemic and prisons: the powder keg
Human-Kind is under attack. People of all races, colours, countries, religions and social classes stand on a common platform to face the massive onslaught of the coronavirus.
Protect human rights during the pandemic
In a situation where the covid-19 virus has overwhelmed some of the world’s best resourced healthcare systems, Bangladesh—like other developing countries—must brace for the worst.
Concern for Kajol during the pandemic
Does anyone know what had happened to Utpal Das? If you cannot remember who Utpal is, no one would blame you.
Domestic violence during the time of corona
The Covid-19 pandemic has opened our eyes to many vulnerabilities. With home quarantine proving to be a successful strategy, we are finally catching up and practicing it. Bangladeshi narratives about home quarantine now discuss how home is the safest place to ensure sanitisation, hygiene and disinfection.
Coronavirus threat: Tea workers’ say no to work
The tea workers of Shamshernagar Tea Garden in Kamalganj upazila, Moulvibazar, took matters into their own hands in defiance of the garden management and stopped work from March 27.
Covid-19 and the Rohingya refugee crisis
All around the world, the numbers are climbing. Each day registers thousands of new cases and lives lost. In Europe, now the epicenter of the pandemic, governments know that the worst is yet to come and are implementing increasingly restrictive measures to enforce social distancing and isolation.
Free flow of information in the time of COVID-19
Today the whole world is struggling to manage the global crisis of COVID-19 and Bangladesh has been listed as one of the 25 high risk countries.
Changing the narrative of rape
In recent months, the national media has consistently drawn our attention to a crime that scourge our society: rape against women and children.
NHRC should rethink its strategy as a rights defender
When human rights are violated, the job of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is to provide the victims with legal aid. It can even stand by the victims in courts. The rights body also has the authority to recommend compensations to the victims, or their
The burden of the ‘Eves’ of this world
"EVE-TEASING”, the colloquial term for public sexual harassment in use despite directives being issued by the High Court about changing it to a more appropriate term, alludes to the monotheism’s (mainly biblical sources) creation story concerning Adam and Eve.
Rohingya crisis: The long view
There is no dearth of opinion on the Rohingya repatriation issue with political leaders, scholars, and even ordinary people all weighing in with their own views.
Sexual harassment and the law: Where’s the problem?
Since its inception in 2017, the #MeToo Movement has been spreading across the world; it has brought to the fore the grave extent to which women from all strata of society face sexual harassment in their daily lives.
The plight of the displaced: Are we doing enough?
Rfugee. Although the word is relatively new, appearing in the English language for the first time circa late 17th century, its story is as old as time itself.
We need to roll up our sleeves for South Asia’s children and we need to do it now
Thease situations never cease to impress and move me: a girl who has never had the chance to go to school before, deep in concentration, learning how to bend and twist a shape drawn on paper into a word.
A rapidly ageing Asia means a rapidly growing need for domestic workers, but what about their rights?
Asia is on track to become one of the “oldest” regions in the world in the next few decades. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the number of older persons in Asia-Pacific is expected to increase from an estimated 548 million
Let’s stand by our lone rangers: The role of RTI activists
When young Shovon moved to Dhaka from his village not very long ago, he went looking for ponds to bathe in. He discovered quite a few of them, spread all over the city.
Social security for migrant workers: Some suggestions
Labour migration is significant for the economy of Bangladesh for many reasons. Almost a quarter of job seekers who enter the country’s labour market every year are employed through migration overseas. In 2018, 734,181 Bangladesh migrant workers travelled abroad. Of them 13.85 percent were women.
