Nilima Jahan

When 50-year-old Md Shahjahan Khandaker was having an asthma attack last month, he was too afraid to go to hospital.

The life of sex workers on the streets, hard as it is during normal times, has taken a worse turn after the coronavirus pandemic hit the country.

While the Covid-19 outbreak has impacted the lives of everyone, women and girls from lower-income families are having to face deeper struggles, especially when it comes to the issue of maintaining menstrual health and hygiene.

In just three years of its launch, Dipanpur -- a book store in Dhaka’s New Elephant Road -- became a hub for literature aficionados.

Eighteen-year-old Afia, who gave birth to a baby boy through a C-section just 15 months ago, learned she was pregnant again this April.

Not too long ago, Dipanpur -- a book café launched in memory of Faisal Arefin Dipan, former publisher of Jagriti Prokashoni -- was a hub for literature aficionados. However, after around four years since its inception, Jolly and the partners have decided to quit this emotional space, as the rapid fall in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic has forced them to come to the decision.

The Covid-19 pandemic has already pushed many middle-income families into poverty.

Pregnancy is a stressful and overwhelming experience in itself. Add to that a global pandemic and the whole ordeal can become even more difficult and frightening.

The dark clouds of April’s nor’westers loom large over Lara’s tomorrow.

A group of people have come forward to provide funeral services and bury the bodies of those who died of Covid-19, while many graveyard committees have been reluctant to do so.

When Sumaiya Akter got a divorce around four years ago, she had nowhere to go with her baby boy. Her own parents had died when she was a child.

SM Mominul Islam Mukut, who works at a bank, went to a private hospital in Uttara on March 21 after suffering from fever and low blood pressure.

On March 26, 19-year-old Iqbal Hossain (not his real name), a volunteer of a blood donation organisation, was out to donate blood to an anemia patient at Ibn Sina Hospital of Sylhet.

Some members of a garment factory alliance have been producing biodegradable general-use masks from surplus fabrics to distribute among the poor for free.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, a large number of people have opted for ordering groceries online from the safety of their homes.

For children on the streets, exploitation, abuse, and neglect is just an everyday affair. And overlooking them, is a part of our everyday affair.

Although Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday urged the public to avoid panic buying amid the looming coronavirus threat, the news of the first death from Covid-19 in Bangladesh aggravated the buying spree among consumers for rice, potatoes, lentils, onions, garlic and ginger.

With calls ringing louder for raising awareness on cleanliness and “social distancing” in wake of coronavirus infections being reported in the country every day, a large population group of the capital -- who live in cramped slums with poor hygiene standards -- appears to be largely clueless about the virus and precautions needed.

Still bearing the trauma of her last dialysis, Marjia Rabbani Shoshi was speaking with a smile until the subject of the Organ Transplantation Act 1999 (amended in 2018) came up.

“I am building a new path for your child. Sowing seeds of courage. Your daughter will make those bloom into radiant flowers and your son will think it is absolutely normal.”