Fahmida Khatun

In order to have any meaningful decentralised policy implementation, the budget-making process should involve the local administration, law makers, and all stakeholders.

The number of educated women has increased over time, but the rate of highly educated women is not as large yet when compared to men. Statistics show that women's educational attainment at the secondary level is higher than men. However, it starts to decline afterwards.

Just at the time when a major conference on the apparel sector of Bangladesh was held on February 25 in Dhaka with the promise to work together for a better tomorrow, disappointing news on labour rights in the readymade garments sector has surfaced.

Increased movement of labour influences the welfare of a country through remittances and has been viewed as a stimulus to the development process of developing countries.

The banking sector in Bangladesh has been plagued with a number of disappointing trends for some time.

Export performance of Bangladesh in the recent past has been somewhat gloomy. During July-December 2016, Bangladesh's exports grew by only 4.4 percent which was targeted to achieve a growth of 8 percent.

Recently, I had the unique opportunity to interact with more than fifty children aged around sixteen years. They had just finished their tenth grade at school.

The most shocking incidence of 2016 has been the terrorist attack in Holey Artisan Bakery. The nature of the attack was different from earlier single incidences where religious militants killed members of minority groups, two foreigners and a number of bloggers.

The ninth Global Forum on Migration and Development Summit is being held in Bangladesh at a time when the world is facing the worst migration and refugee crisis in the history of human civilisation.

Following the end of almost fifty years of military rule in Myanmar and the release of the Nobel Laureate leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2011, the world had looked at the country with much enthusiasm.

It is encouraging to note that the National Income Tax Fair is becoming increasingly useful and popular among ordinary tax payers in Bangladesh.

The stereotypical mindset of even the highly educated section of the society hold the view that girls should maintain so-called 'decency' in their outfits and movements. If that is so, then what type of indecency can a five-year-old girl display in her clothes and demeanour? Are girls who wear hijabs spared by these monstrous men?

Bangladesh had an exceptional six days this month. Starting with the visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping and ending with that of the World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, the country went through a period of euphoria.

China has been taken a strong place in the global economic landscape with its large GDP and rapid economic growth.

Connecting with people is an inherent urge in human beings. Movement of people and ideas contributed towards the progress of societies.

President Barak Obama's speech at the seventy first session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2016 carries great significance.

Fluent in Bangla, Kazuko never felt that she was a foreigner in this country. She always felt safe and comfortable in Bangladesh and didn't hesitate to relay that message to the world.

Life can change at any moment. On July 1, 2016, life changed for us Bangladeshis. Security has become an even higher priority for the country.

On its part, Bangladesh has to work hard in bringing back the confidence of investors, development partners and the foreign community. The damage has already been done through worldwide media coverage. Now Bangladesh needs to reassure foreigners working here about their safety.

While European leaders dreamt of an intertwined economy across Europe 43 years ago, the British people desired something else.