Nilima Jahan

Fifty-four-year-old Md Belal Hossain works at a small bakery in Ibrahimpur, Mirpur. He has learnt only one trade in his life—making bread, biscuits, cakes, and confectionery items on the dirty floors of grim bakeries.

“When my husband stopped talking to me, all the responsibility of my treatment fell on my elderly father, who is a farmer. He had to sell off our land, three cows and trees to fund my treatment”

When you think of starting a business in Bangladesh, you almost immediately think of exploring your options in the garments sector. You might even take the risk of venturing into the food business or any other 'tested and tried' sector that is bound to give an instant reward.

Rahima Khatun tries to cross the busy Mirpur 10 circle, with her four-year-old daughter in her arms. She waits for a while and when the traffic slows down, she runs across the road.

School and college student protesters have returned to the classroom already but their hearts remain on the streets. Meanwhile, allegations have arisen that some institutions are penalising students for their participation in the student movement that sprung up spontaneously for safer roads.

18-year-old Faisal Mahmud, a student of class XII, was injured when a truck ran over him near Shanir Akhra on August 1, while he and his friends were checking the licences of vehicles on that road.

Remember the time in school when you were asked what you wanted to become once you grew up? And remember how everyone talked about either becoming a doctor or an engineer?

It was with a lot of pomp and flair that the Dhaka Metropolitan Police launched the official “999” helpline last December; but half a year down the line, data shows that only one percent of the calls could be truly served.

There was a time when you only had to worry about receiving spam in your e-mail inbox. Years on, though, that role seems to have been taken over by the messages folder on your phone.

How much does a life cost? For 55-year-old Selim Bepari, who used to work as a driver at a private firm till the evening of June 19, it was equal to the amount he earned in a month—Tk 22,000.

Newly-wed Munia spent this Eid cooking for, and serving, her in-laws, while pining for her parental home and a glimpse of her parents. When the 28-year-old had approached her husband about visiting her parents, he had simply dismissed the idea. Her first Eid after marriage was thus marked by a huge fight with her husband who chose to prioritise his family and some ill-formed notions of custom over the happiness of his wife and his in-laws.

Just about 50 kilometres north of Dhaka lies the wooded surrounds of Gazipur, a district that has become increasingly popular these days because of its luxurious resorts that offer the guests a chance to get lost in nature's serenity and leave behind the big-city stress.

For Mirpur residents, hardship while commuting has become an everyday affair; by now, even the media is probably tired of repeatedly covering the same news about the area.

“Apa, please come in,” a young man gesturing to his small print and copy shop in Nilkhet's Bakushah market. “What do you need—term paper, project report, master's thesis, internship report, research monograph? Just name it,” he asks swiftly.

When she was a child, every time Shobita was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would reply: “a lawyer”. And, valuing her passion, Shobita's father—a primary school teacher—left no stone unturned to fulfil her dreams. She graduated from a private university in 2015; unfortunately, however, she soon found there was more to becoming a lawyer than completing her studies.

Farah Sharmin, an HSC student at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, escaped an attempted rape while on a journey with her mother from Abdullahpur to Rampura on a Shuprobh at Paribahan vehicle in the evening. As the bus neared Rampura and passengers thinned out, Sharmin and her mother were left alone with some boys sitting at the back.

The attempt of suppressing workers and union leaders with prolonged unlawful detention is nothing new in Bangladesh. There are too many instances in which owners use false cases as tools to crack down on labour movements.

Last month, Star Weekend conducted an online survey to explore incidents of sexual harassment, misconduct and violence on university campuses and found that 70 percent of students from public and private universities who took part in the survey have faced some level of sexual harassment on campus. A total of 200 students from different public and private universities participated.

A city that had over 50 canals and lakes only three decades ago, Dhaka has currently lost almost all of its water bodies. Over the years, most of these water bodies have been snatched by land grabbers and some have been used to dump massive quantities of garbage from nearby areas.

Tania Sultana, a 23-year-old sewing operator at “Esses Fashion Ltd.” of BEXIMCO Textiles can now take home her compensation for 30 days of work at the end of the month, but it was difficult for her to do so just a few months ago. She was not always able to make it to work, especially on heavy-flow days when she could not work for 8-10 hours at a stretch. Since unsanitary rags were Sultana's only recourse, she would find it impossible to wash and