The death of a climate justice pioneer
The editorial team at The Daily Star is shocked and deeply saddened by the death of eminent climate expert and scientist Dr Saleemul Huq OBE
29 October 2023
Our youth is scavenging for mental health resources
In Dhaka, you will be hard-pressed to find a therapist charging a fee-per-hour of less than Tk 1,500.
10 October 2023
The bittersweet dream of Dhaka’s metro rail
As the train screeches along the rails, one cannot help but marvel at the experience of being a passenger on the Dhaka metro.
2 July 2023
‘Business, not city service, is being prioritised’
"One after another, actions are taking place to strip the Dhanmondi Lake of its intended character."
5 June 2023
How to not ‘be a woman’ on Bangladeshi public buses
How can women travel on public transport without feeling like sub-humans?
4 March 2023
Why we think romantic love is unimportant
It is unfortunate that most people experiencing one failed romantic relationship tend to give up on love altogether. In the process, we also normalise giving less to our current partner.
13 February 2023
It’s time now for sports to stop seeing gender
Why do female sportspeople have to prove themselves “worthy” of the support their male counterparts can take for granted?
20 September 2022
What hurts the most? My ‘cultural’ sentiments, of course
I have been deeply, deeply affected by social media sensation Ashraful Hossen Alom’s (mostly known as Hero Alom) rendition of Amaro Porano Jaha Chay (lyrics by Rabindranath Tagore).
28 July 2022
Love, Death & Robots: "Jibaro" and the futile fantasy of feminine revenge
How feministic is the female revenge fantasy in films?
27 May 2022
Why should we need to demand safe roads?
What hope is there for a country—soon to become a middle-income one—to be a safe one for its citizens if people are being killed on roads daily, with little intervention from authorities besides what’s on paper?
4 April 2022
The Slap: When toxic masculinity becomes the language of love
Why is a man seen as the default protector to a woman? Why do we believe that a woman cannot protect herself—let alone decide when she does or does not require protection?
29 March 2022
Women don’t want to be superhumans
Often as children, my female peers and I would lament over the myriad privileges our male counterparts enjoyed in society, from being allowed to play for hours in the sun (a tan would not diminish their value as human beings) to going out any hour of the day (with their prime fear being that they might be mugged, not that they might be raped and killed).
1 February 2022
How conforming to societal misogyny breeds gender-based violence
If I had to pick only one trait of my own that I admire, it would have to be my ability to adapt.
30 November 2021
‘Misogyny embedded in the legal system has to be addressed’
Advocate Sultana Kamal is a human rights activist and the founder president of Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (msf). In this interview with Afia Jahin of The Daily Star, she speaks about what perpetuates violence against women in Bangladesh, and the steps that individuals, institutions and the state can take to combat it.
25 November 2021
Think twice before giving in to fast fashion
The character of Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep, from the 2006 film “The Devil Wears Prada”—albeit exaggerated for dramatic effect—was the boss of all our nightmares.
8 November 2021
Tighten your purse strings, save the planet
This is my moment of truth. When last month I got to know that there was a day called World Thrift Day (that is, today), I immediately decided I had to write about it.
30 October 2021
What does it say about our society when a child bride sets herself on fire?
Upon reading the news headline for the incident I am about to discuss, I only felt a momentary, dull pain in my gut or thereabouts. Because while it is a shocking incident that would rob you of hope, the elements of the story are all too familiar to us all.
22 October 2021
All screen and no play?
We are all familiar with the sight by now: everyone in a family—adults, children, parents—sitting together, but each concentrating on their personal device, usually a smartphone or a tablet.
12 October 2021
It’s more than just a haircut
It’s part of human nature to favour symmetry, uniformity, and evenness over something that is uneven or “disorganised.”
4 October 2021
Third in gender, last in line?
Weighed down under the stacks of reports about crowding at vaccination centres, shortage of vaccine doses, and the rocky mass vaccination drives, is the story of how a section of Bangladeshi population is suffering from bias and a lack of access to the jabs, leaving them unprotected against the coronavirus.
30 September 2021