Bangladesh Police Chief Tells Bloggers, "Don't Cross the Line"

Activists march in a torch-light vigil demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment to the killers of secular blogger Niloy Neel. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Image by Khurshed Alam Rinku. Copyright Demotix (8/8/2015)

It has been five days since the assassination of secular blogger Niloy Neel but Bangladesh police authorities have made no significant progress investigating his murder. Neel was hacked to death by a band of five men who broke into his apartment in Dhaka, the nation's capital, on August 7, 2015.

Left shell-shocked by Niloy's killing -- which was the fourth assassination of a secular blogger in Bangladesh in 2015 -- many bloggers have stopping writing and some have gone into hiding. Some of the country's most active bloggers now fear they may face jail or will die at the hands of the assailants. Others have left the country.

The names of these bloggers and others under threat appeared on a list of 84 people submitted to a special government committee in 2013 by a group of conservative Muslim clerics who accused the bloggers of “atheism” and writing against Islam. Since then, eleven individuals on the list have been murdered.

Following Niloy's death, threats have extended beyond blogging communities. The proprietor of a publishing house that published multiple books by blogger Avijit Roy, who was slain in public in February of 2015, is now in danger as fundamentalist forces have identified him as a promoter of atheist ideology.

The day after Niloy's murder, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called Niloy's killers a "blot on Islam." She said in a meeting on August 8:

Islam is a religion of peace. Those who want to taint it cannot have true faith in it. How dare they call themselves Muslims? [..]

And now they are murdering bloggers for writing against the religion. Who benefits from this gory mayhem? Which religion they claim to have been protecting?

She continued:

We cannot let this happen in Bangladesh. The people of this country are peace-loving.

In response, blogger Haseeb wrote in Sachalayatan wrote that for him, the Prime Minister's words rang hollow:

সরকার ব্লগারদের মতপ্রকাশের স্বাধীনতা বিষয়ে যতোটা না চিন্তিত, তার থেকে চিন্তিত তাদের ধার্মিক ইমেজ যাতে ক্ষতিগ্রস্থ না হয় সেটা নিয়ে। সরকার ধর্মীয় রাজনীতি তো বটেই, সেই ধর্মীয় রাজনীতি যারা করে তাদের আদর আপ‍্যায়নেই আন্তরিকতা দেখিয়েছে। আর ব্লগারদের মুখ বন্ধ করতে চালু করেছে ৫৭ধারার মতো কালো আইন।

The government is more concerned about keeping their pro-religion image, rather than worrying about freedom of expression. The government is endorsing religious politics and are soft on those who use religion for politics. And the bloggers are slapped with Section 57 [of the IT Act]...

Section 57 of Bangladesh's IT Act criminalizes “publishing fake, obscene or defaming information in electronic form.”

Haseeb also cited a recent press release from the Awami Ulema League, a conservative Islamic group claiming to support Bangladesh's ruling coalition:

নাস্তিক হত্যাকারীদের বিরুদ্ধে ব্যবস্থা নেয়া মানে এই নয় যে, মিডিয়া ইসলাম বিদ্বেষী নাস্তিকদের হাইলাইট করবে। সুতরাং এসব নাস্তিক ব্লগার কর্তৃক বিভিন্ন ব্লগ, ওয়েবসাইট, স্যোসাল মিডিয়ায় কুরুচিপূর্ণ নাস্তিক্যবাদী লেখা বন্ধে ধর্ম অবমাননার জন্য মৃত্যুদন্ডের আইন প্রণয়ন করতে হবে। [..]

এদেশকে নাস্তিক্যবাদী দেশ বানাতে ইসলাম বিরোধী শিক্ষনীতি তৈরী করা হয়েছে। কুরআন-সুন্নাহ বিরোধী বক্তব্য যুক্ত ও ষড়যন্ত্রমূলক পাঠ্যপুস্তক অবিলম্বে বাজেয়াপ্ত করতে হবে। সাথে সাথে ইসলাম বিরোধী প্রচলিত শিক্ষানীতি বাতিল করতে হবে। ৯৮ ভাগ মুসলমানের এদেশের শিক্ষানীতি সম্পূর্ণ ইসলামিক করতে হবে।

The media should not highlight atheist writings in the name of speaking for the killers of the atheists. There should be the death penalty for those who write nasty and blasphemous things on blogs, websites and in social media.

The education policy of this country was developed to make this a country of atheists. The curriculum which contain words against the Quran and Sunnah should be confiscated. The anti-Islam education policy should be repealed. The education policy of this Muslim-majority country should be Islamic.

Haseeb writes:

যে মুহুর্তে ক্ষমতাসীন আওয়ামী লীগের সহযোগি একটি দল এই সমস্ত অশ্লীল দাবিনামা ঢাকা শহরের রাস্তায় মাইকে উগরাচ্ছে তখন শেখ হাসিনা শীতাতপ নিয়ন্ত্রিত কনফারেন্স রুমে দাবি করছেন ধর্ম নিয়ে রাজনীতি করতে দেয়া হবে না। দুঃখিত মাননীয় প্রধানমন্ত্রী। এভাবে হবে না। ক্ষমতাসীন আওয়ামী লীগ সরকারের এধরণের অবস্থান সাংঘর্ষিক।

While an Islamic front, claiming to be supporters of the ruling Awami League, are talking about these demands using loud speakers in the streets, our Prime Minister is saying indoors that "we will not let religion be used for politics." Sorry, Madame Prime Minister. This is not right. There is a contradiction in the stance of the ruling Awami League.

The Director of News of Ekattor TV Syed Ishtiak Reza asks:

ধর্মান্ধতা আজ আমাদের দেশের শান্তি বিঘ্নিত করছে। সেখানে ক্ষমতাসীন দলের সাথে সম্পর্কযুক্ত কোনও সংগঠন এমন বক্তব্য দিলেতো বলতে হবে, বিপদ দরজায়।

Fundamentalism has disturbed peace in our country. When we hear these kinds of statements coming from a group this close to the ruling party, we have to say, peril is near.

However, in an interview Awami League joint general secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif stated:

Awami League does not have any wing or associate group by the name of Ulema League. They have no political link with the party.

Hanif urged citizens not to confuse the Alami Ulema League with the Awami League, Bangladesh's current governing political party. According to reports, the people behind Awami Ulema League claim Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as their leader, though their ideology and principles are different from Awami League ruling party. Whether the Awami League has any affiliation with the Awami Ulema League is unknown but no ruling party leaders have condemned their speech.

On Sunday, Police Chief AKM Shahidul Hoque added fuel to the fire, saying:

Free-thinkers and bloggers should not cross the limit of tolerance while expressing their views on religion. If any person is hurt by any writing, s/he may take legal action. They can file a case with the police. Everyone should obey the law.

He added that the maximum punishment for the above crime 14 years' jail time.

Mr. Monirul Islam, another high police official, said:

যারা ব্লগারদের হত্যার সঙ্গে জড়িত এবং যারা হযরত মুহাম্মদ (সা.), ধর্ম ও কোরআন নিয়ে যুক্তিহীনভাবে আঘাত করে ব্লগে লেখে তাদের সকলকে আইনের আওতায় আনা হবে। কারণ যারা যুক্তিহীনভাবে ধর্ম নিয়ে ব্লগে লেখে তারাও উগ্রবাদী।

The killers of the bloggers and those who write on blogs attacking the prophet Muhammad, Islam and Quran all will be brought under law. Those who illogically write against religion in blogs are also extremists.

These comments sparked an uproar among citizens who took to social media to express their outrage. Expat activist Rayhan Rashid tweeted:

Meet our InspectorGeneral. His message to the 'still-alive' bloggers: "DON'T CROSS THE LINE"! http://t.co/QR0yPkL4e4 pic.twitter.com/uGhjrerJrs

— Rayhan Rashid (@rayhanrashid) August 9, 2015

Renowned journalist Toufique Khalidi tweeted:

Is a police officer the one to judge or decide where to draw the line in this case? http://t.co/K0064FOtuY

— Toufique I. Khalidi (@ToufiqueKhalidi) August 9, 2015

An online petition launched by an unknown group is asking for the police chief's resignation.

Muktangon blog published a statement criticising the police response to the murder and saying that police should not be talking about bloggers hurting religious sentiments in an attempt to distract citizens from their failure to ensure public safety. Muktangon also noted that these bloggers were well aware of speech laws in their country:

এ কথা সঠিক নয় যে, মানুষের ধর্মীয় অনুভূতিতে ব্লগাররা ঢালাওভাবে আঘাত করে যাচ্ছেন। কোনো কোনো ব্লগার তাঁদের মুক্তচিন্তা চর্চার অংশ হিসেবে কখনো কখনো হয়তো ধর্মের (সেটা সব ধর্মের ক্ষেত্রেই প্রযোজ্য) কোনো কোনো বিষয় নিয়ে কথা বলে থাকেন, কিন্তু তা তাঁরা নির্দিষ্ট স্থানে এবং সামগ্রিক আলোচনার ধারাবাহিক অংশ হিসেবেই করে থাকেন। প্রকাশ্যে জনসমক্ষে হট্টগোল তুলে তাঁরা কিছুই করেন না, যার ফলে মানুষ উত্ত্যক্ত বোধ করবে কিংবা আহত ও ক্রুদ্ধ হবে।

মতপ্রকাশের স্বাধীনতার মূল কথাই হল অপ্রিয় মতামত অপ্রিয় ভঙ্গিতে প্রকাশেরও পূর্ণ স্বাধীনতা, যতক্ষণ না তা কোনো সুষ্পষ্টভাবে সংজ্ঞায়িত নিরপেক্ষভাবে বিচারযোগ্য প্রচলিত আইনের কোনো বিধানের নিষেধের মধ্যে না পড়ে। তাই, যারা তাদের রাজনৈতিক বা অন্য কোনো হীন উদ্দেশ্যে ব্লগারদের উম্মুক্ত আলোচনা ও বক্তব্যকে খণ্ডিতভাবে যেখানে-সেখানে উপস্থাপনের মাধ্যমে বিভ্রান্তিকর পরিস্থিতির সৃষ্টি করে, উত্তেজনা সৃষ্টির চেষ্টা করে – সরকার ও আইনশৃঙ্খলা রক্ষাকারী বাহিনীর বরং উচিত তাদের বিরুদ্ধে আইনগত ব্যবস্থা নেয়া।

This is incorrect that bloggers are deliberately and across the board hurting other people's religious sentiments. Some bloggers mentioned and discussed some aspects of religion (many religions, not only Islam) in their online writings as a part of their freedom of expression and part of their discussion and context. But they never did it in public or agitated or hurt people directly.

The main thing of freedom of expression is that one should be free to express adverse opinions in a critical way that may not be liked or endorsed by all. People can do it as long as they are not breaking any existing law of the land. [Author's note: Bangladesh does not have Sharia law.] So those who are creating a disturbance and inciting hatred by terming the bloggers atheist and blasphemous by taking their words out of context should be identified and legal actions should be taken against them.

The post was also published in Global Voices Online.

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Why Britain Owes India for 200 Years of Brutal Colonialism

Shashi Tharoor speaking at Jaipur literary festival. Image by Jim Ankan Deka. Copyright Demotix (23/1/2015)

Indian Opposition MP, former minister and former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations Shashi Tharoor recently participated in a debate at the Oxford Union society arguing that Britain owes reparations to India for misdeeds committed during two centuries of colonial rule.

The 15 minute clip containing Tharoor's powerful and lucid argument for reparations went viral on social media soon after the Oxford Union debating society posted it online on July 14.

The British East India Company ruled or dominated on the Indian subcontinent from 1757 to 1858. The British directly ruled over the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947 when the region was commonly known as British India or the Indian Empire.

https://youtu.be/f7CW7S0zxv4

Here are some excerpts from Tharoor's speech:

India's share of the world economy when Britain arrived on its shores was 23 per cent, by the time the British left it was down to below 4 per cent. Why? Simply because India had been governed for the benefit of Britain.

Britain's rise for 200 years was financed by its depredations in India. In fact Britain's industrial revolution was actually premised upon the de-industrialisation of India. [..]

By the end of 19th century, the fact is that India was already Britain's biggest cash cow, the world's biggest purchaser of British goods and exports and the source for highly paid employment for British civil servants. We literally paid for our own oppression. [..]

What is required it seems to me is accepting the principle that reparations are owed. Personally, I will be quite happy if it was one pound a year for the next 200 years after the last 200 years of Britain in India.

Tharoor's speech was widely appreciated in India and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Parliament:

Tharoor’s speech reflected the feelings of patriotic Indians on the issue and showed what an impression one can leave with effective arguments by saying the right things at the right place.

Miss Malini wrote in her blog:

Irrespective of our political leanings and beliefs, we can agree to the fact that Dr. Shashi Tharoor is one of the top debators of the country. That’s why it’s not surprising when the diplomat and former minister of state for external affairs took part in a debate at the Oxford Union.

Shashi Tharoor himself said on Twitter:

Somebody told me this is one speech of mine that my usual "Hindu nationalist" critics might agree with! True? https://t.co/BCBuXqbjJ9

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 15, 2015

Writer and film director Radha Bharadwaj writes on Twitter:

@minhazmerchant outlines what British rule cost India. I'd add Indians' self-esteem; the damage in this dept. lingers http://t.co/g5UfsPXQee

— radha bharadwaj (@radhabharadwaj) July 24, 2015

All differences aside, im blown over by this Shashi Tharoor speech. http://t.co/txUWZi45Vm must watch.

— Vande Mataram (@UnSubtleDesi) July 21, 2015

What a brilliant brilliant speech by Shashi Tharoor. A must see by every Indian. Would be good for Britain to return our Kohinoor to us.

— Priya Gupta (@priyaguptatimes) July 19, 2015

https://t.co/kfwdnxeCFG @ShashiTharoor That was a fantastic speech. Thank You fpr upholding India's pride. Thank You.

— Dinesh (@DineshHegde) July 24, 2015

Sandip Roy claimed in Firstpost that Tharoor's speech had united a polarised Indian society, adding:

While the reparations he argues for are for the sins from centuries past, there is a bit that might have far more contemporary relevance for our politics today. At the end of the speech making a passionate case for even symbolic reparations Tharoor says “The abilty to acknowledge a wrong that has been done, to simply say sorry will go a far far longer way than some percentage of GDP.”

Now if only some of the politicians furiously butting heads in parliament and dredging up each other’s scams to shame each other would pay attention to that bit, we could all get moving with the nation’s business.

The post was also published in Global Voices Online.

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Why Arabic Script on the Walls Might Not Stop Public Urination in Dhaka

The photo shows Arabic sign on the sidewall of Panthakunja Park at the Karwan Bazar in Dhaka. Image by Sk. Hasan Ali. Copyright Demotix (7/5/2015)

Public urination is a problem in Bangladesh due largely to a lack of public toilets. Municipal officials in the capital Dhaka have battled in vain to stop men urinating in public, with signs in the local Bengali language and warnings of punishment and fines yielding no notable results.

Now the government is hoping that an innovative idea can put a stop to the habit. Recently the Ministry of Religious Affairs released a video highlighting their campaign "Language Matters" wherein Bengali signs warning against urination are now being replaced by Arabic signs, a holy language for Bangladeshis.

Perhaps they have taken a cue from neighbouring India -- battling with the same problem -- where pictures of Hindu gods and godesses on the walls are intended to have the same effect.



Although some are lauding the state's effort to solve a perennial problem, others are skeptical, claiming the campaign supports blind faith and promotes misconceptions.

Sufi Faruq comments on YouTube:

ধর্ম মন্ত্রণালয়ের দারুণ একটা ক্যাম্পেইন !!! (..)

বাংলাদেশের বেশিরভাগ মুসলিম আরবি ভাষা না বুঝলেও এই ধরনের অক্ষরকে পবিত্র মনে করে। তাই ওই স্ক্রিপ্টে লেখা যে কোনকিছু অপবিত্র করতে ভয় পায়। এই ভয়টার বেশিরভাগ সময় ধর্ম ব্যবসায়ীরা অপব্যবহার করতো। এবার একটা দারুণ কাজে ব্যাবহার হল।

A great campaign by the Ministry of Religious Affairs!!!

Most of the Muslim majority Bangladeshis cannot understand Arabic but they deem it as a holy language. So they fear to desecrate anything written in that language. Most of the time it was used by religious opportunists as it is the language of the Koran and the prayers. Now it has been used for a good cause.

Despite the Ministry of Religious Affairs' claim in the video about toilets being present in most of Dhaka's 10,000 mosques, the general lack of public toilets in the city of approximately 15 million is a genuine challenge. The city's large homeless population is particularly affected by the shortage.

Adnan R. Amin at Alal O Dulal Blog thinks that the video does not get to the root of the problem and instead aims to create false impressions:

The using of a religious misconception (“Arabic is a holy language”), to prevent a social evil, is clever. But it also reinforces and lends credence to that misconception, instead of dispelling it. One would think that for a ministry for religious affairs, dispelling religious misconceptions would outweigh protecting city-walls. If there were funds available to the government, Dhaka’s City Corporations could’ve used them to create better facilities for women. While it is difficult to discern from boardrooms, the 36 public toilets with facilities for women are now being used by men. Judging from the tactic and tone of  this video, a reexamining of both government bodies’ priorities seems to be in order.

Translating "do not urinate here" to Arabic reduces public urination in Dhaka @OgilvyChange #NudgesInTheWild pic.twitter.com/5b9MjUoLXy

— Umar Taj (@umar_taj) May 10, 2015

Moreover, Fariduddin Masud, an influential cleric criticised the Ministry for Religious Affairs.

While most mosques do have sanitary facilities, mosques themselves are "not public toilets", he said, adding that "nobody has the right to use the language of the Koran for such a campaign."

Blogger Irene Sultana doubted the campaign via a blog post on Women Chapter titled 'Not Arabic, but Public Toilets, Matter":

ঢাকা শহরের প্রতি দেড় লাখ নাগরিকের জন্য শৌচাগার রয়েছে মাত্র একটি। [..] অধিকাংশ পাবলিক টয়লেটই ব্যবহার অনুপযোগী। [..] পাবলিক টয়লেটহীন নগরীতে পথচারীদের অধিকাংশই তাই ফুটপাতকেই বেছে নিচ্ছেন ’হালকা’ হতে।

না বুঝে কেবল আরবি লেখা থাকলে সালাম করা হলো এ দেশের মানুষের ধর্মীয় অন্ধত্ব। ধর্ম মন্ত্রণালয়ের দায়িত্ব ছিল মানুষকে এসব অশিক্ষা থেকে বের করে শিক্ষিত, সচেতন করা, তার বদলে মানুষের সেই অজ্ঞতাকে ব্যবহার করে ’সমাধানের’ নামে মূলত একটি মশকরা করলো!

There is only one toilet in the capital Dhaka for every 150,000 people, out of which many are not usable. So in the absence of enough public toilets the pedestrians use walls to relieve themselves.

Many Bangladeshis respect the Arabic language because they don't know the language. The duty of the Ministry of Religious Affairs was to educate them and make them aware that this is a language only, not everything in its writing is sacred. But instead they used this ignorance to eke out a "solution" which is actually a farce.

Sultana also cites the recent efforts of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who built toilets in front of temples and achieved 5.2 million lavatories in the first 100 days of his tenure.

Bangladesh lags far behind on this issue.

While state religious officials are already trumpeting its successes, the campaign does not appear to have been well thought-through. If implemented to the fullest extent, Dhaka's walls will be covered by Arabic but people will still have nowhere to urinate.

Moreover, in India, before Modi went on his toilet-building spree, the gods on walls campaign unravelled: people simply began urinating on the faces of the deities. Innovative campaigns incorporating public shaming such as "The Pissing Tanker" also lacked impact.

For this reason Adnan R Amin's comment that the money spent on the campaign -- "a proxy solution that treats the Symptom and not the Cause" -- would be better spent on new public toilets in Dhaka seems to be well-founded.

The post was also published in Global Voices Online.

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Bangladesh Authorities Shut Down a 200-Year-Old Brothel, Evicting Hundreds of Sex Workers

Aerial view of Kandapara brothel in Tangail, a northeastern city of Bangladesh.
 Image by Ranak Martin. Copyright Demotix (1/12/2012)

 The 200-year-old Kandapara brothel in Tangail, one of the oldest brothels in Bangladesh, was shuttered on July 14, 2014. Tremendous pressure from local Muslim clerics and politicians supposedly led to the brothel's closure, but the national platform of sex workers of Bangladesh has accused local authorities of land grabbing under the guise of religious piety.

More than 759 prostitutes were evicted as a result. Residents were only given a few hours' notice, human rights organizations have protested. The Facebook page of women-centered publication "Women Chapter" says that the evicted sex workers are now facing uncertainties and living in unsafe environments.

Sociologist Laura Agustín tweeted how the sex workers were evicted:

Kandapara #sexworkers group: 'Armed with sticks they told us we have one hour to leave or they would burn down the brothel with kerosene'.

— Laura Agustín (@LauraAgustin) July 14, 2014

Twitter user ATM Zakaria warned:

পুনর্বাসন ব্যাতিত যৌনপল্লিটি উচ্ছেদ সমাজ এবং রাষ্ট্রের জন্য হুমকি ==========================================... http://t.co/d6yLqX9a8Q

— ATM ZAKARIA (@atmzakaria71) July 14, 2014

Eviction of sex workers without rehabilitation is a threat to the society and nation.

Mogoje Curfew (Curfew in the brain) wrote on Sovyata (Civilization) blog that these sex workers did not join the profession willingly, but out of hardship or coercion. The blogger wrote what will happen to the sex workers without rehabilitation:

We can guess the future of the evicted sex workers who are oppressed. They will certainly not get any work out there. They have to beg from home to home to feed their mouths.

The Kandapara brothels sprung up from 1860 to 1880 as traders arrived on commercial vessels. They had both time and money and were sex workers' main clients. The total population was until recently about 2,000, including sex workers, their children, some parents, babus (fixed lovers/permanent clients), pimps, and landlords.

It's not the first brothel to be shut down and its workers evicted in the Muslim-majority country, where conservatism is on the rise. On July 23, 1999, the Tanbazar brothels, one of the oldest and largest, were closed down and about 2,600 sex workers were evicted from their homes. Dhaka's Kandupatti, home to several thousand sex workers, was next. Then it was Magura. Last August, attacks were carried out on the Madaripur brothel and homes of approximately 500 sex workers were vandalized and looted.

Members from Sex Workers Network of Bangladesh (SWNOB) form a human chain  Image by Shafiqul Alam. Copyright Demotix (29/8/2013) 

The general understanding is that religious and social pressures were behind the eviction in Tangails Kandapara. However, Sex Workers Network, the national platform of sex workers of Bangladesh, said in a press conference on July 17, 2014 that the local mayor harnessed religious sentiments to grab the 302-decimal land of the Kandapara brothel.

Similar accusations were made after the eviction of the Tanbazar and Madaripur brothels. The people behind the eviction denied the allegations. They claimed that the brothels are source of criminal activity.

Sex workers formed human chain at front of press club in Dhaka protesting the eviction of Kandapara brothel, Tangail. Image by Mohammad Asad. Copyright Demotix (20/7/2014)

 Bangladesh is one of the few Muslim-majority countries were prostitution is not officially banned. Prostitution can be found in the old history of Bengal, but this profession never had any legal recognition, including during the British colonial period. In 2000, a local court recognized the profession in a verdict.

In Bangladesh, there are 18 registered brothels and around 200,000 sex workers across the country. A recent study revealed rampant child prostitution.

Kazi Mamun Hossain, a diaspora Bangladeshi blogger, wrote on Bangla blogging platform Somewhereinblog:

I condemn the duality of the state in not banning the prostitution, but also not upholding sex workers rights. I strongly protest eviction of the sex workers without rehabilitation.

The post was first published in Global Voices Online

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Alternative Voices Speaking For A Secular Bangladesh

Bangladeshi liberal humanist, free-thinker and award winning blogger Asif Mohiuddin has been invited to speak at the World Humanist Congress 2014 in Oxford, UK. He was arrested multiple times for his alleged ‘anti-state’ and ‘anti-religious’ writings, attacked by fundamentalists, and is living with death threats. Here is an excerpt from the translation of his Facebook status in Bengali on 3 March 2014 about being invited to speak at the Congress and how Bangladesh should be perceived on the global stage:

Bangladeshi doesn’t mean South Asia’s Islamic fundamentalist – Pakistan’s little brother. There is religious fundamentalism in Bangladesh, but there are also voices raised in protest against it, much like in the United States and Europe.

We just need to get our voice to the international stage. We need to make our position clear. If we don’t, the outside world will always see us as illiterate, religious fundamentalist, far right nationalist, misogynist, anti-gay, backwards-thinking and we will keep being seen as a mini-Pakistan, mini-Afghanistan, mini-Saudi Arabia. It’s time to change these perceptions.

We want to change from a moderate Muslim country to be secular Bangladesh, where there is free speech and equal rights for all. We are marching towards that future and hopefully the outside world will see us.

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Global State of Social Media in 2011

Tweet

Social Media Week (SMW) is a global platform that connects people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media. During February 7-11 the conference took place in London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, São Paolo and will also expand to Paris, Rome and Hong Kong.

Here is a presentation of Tom Smith, founder and project leader of Trendstream, a consultancy dedicated to understanding trends in technology adoption, showing the Global State of Social Media in 2011:

Social Media Week Global State of Social Media in 2011

View more presentations from Tom Smith.

The important findings of this report are:

* Social Media has reached maturity - 70% of UK population are involved in Social Media
* Micro-blogging still leads the top (35%), managed social networking follows (29%), blog story (7%)
* Conversations are moving from discussion boards/forums to Twitter.
* Blogs lead in Asia - China, South Korea, India
* Facebook dominates in Social Networking
* Young people (16-24) leads in usage
* Mobile/Mobile Apps On A Parity With Desktop
* Social Networking is driving different source of trust

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Global Voices Turns Five

One of my favorite places in the Internet Global Voices has turned five years this month. It was incubated and launched five years ago at the Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Read Rebecca MacKinnon and David Sasaki's posts to learn how all this happened.

I am writing for Global Voices for about four and a half years. In my early blogging years I was interested about other blogs in Bangladesh and some from the neighboring countries and would write about them. My blog was being linked by Global Voices and I was approached to write for Global Voices. My first post in Global Voices  was published on July 23, 2005 which was about a Bangladeshi-Canadian girl talking about arranged marriage. Soon I started writing regional roundups and last year I took over as the Regional Editor for South Asia. These years have been a revolution for me which changed the course of my life.

Now lets discuss why writing for Global Voices is important and why I find it as an activism rather than some mundane routine. Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zuckerman wrote:

People pay attention to subjects they care about. They tend to ignore subjects they know little about. Media, trying to serve its customers in a free market, responds by giving them more information on subjects they’ve demonstrated an interest in and ignoring other subjects.

So he emphasizes that the bloggers fill the voids of the uncovered parts and the bridge bloggers (who contextualize conversations, issues, and debates from one community and share them with another) have the responsibility to bring them forward. Global Voices has been the platform for the bridge bloggers across the world talking about blogs from every corners in the world, translating from and in multiple languages. It would be an interesting research to learn how the communities have used this platform.

What impact GV has made on Bangladeshi blogosphere? Remember the days when blogger-journalist Tasneem Khalil was arrested we were able to share the news to the world within a couple of hours? We informed about the news like YouTube ban, Ban on Tibet exhibition in Dhaka to the world, some instantaneously, some after verification of facts. We have reported how Bloggers exposed the fake Tajmahal scam. We shared what expatriates are talking about Bangladesh or Bangladeshis. Almost each day we link to interesting blogposts of bloggers (thus introducing more and more new bloggers). Check the Bangladesh feeds for our coverage.

Jillian C. York writes about the role of Global Voices:

In my own, the Moroccan blogosphere, there are times when GV breaks a story–however “small” the story might seem–which leads to Moroccan activists and bloggers getting interviewed by U.S. and international media.  We spread stories.  We spread words.

Global Voices has also helped the diaspora to connect back to their own country. Milton Ramirez writes:

As a result of living in the U.S. I could not let out our ancestral roots. Global Voices has served not only to make us better and more informed about Ecuador, but has allowed us to establish fraternal ties with Ecuadorians over there in the half the world.

Now I would like to emphasize on the contributions of the authors of Global Voices. Global Voices is now what it is because of its wonderful authors across the world. I know that writing for GV is for most them a labor of love and they look for finer things. Most of the authors are the very best among their own blogosphere and some of them are almost celebrities. I am proud to say the Iraqi blogger Salam Pax, whom I saw as an idol in my early blogging days is part of this very big family. The Global Voices summit resembles that of a mini UN summit and it is really wonderful to meet all these wonderful individuals.

But I feel that we have not been able to achieve our mission as we need to do more. David says that we are only 10% there and still there are miles to go. We need to engage more authors to cover more areas of blogospheres.We need to highlight more about different cultures, different literature, different religions, different communities.

More than often bloggers want popularity and they want a scratch in the back for whatever they do. They forget that a part of their social responsibility is the activism, to do something with their blogging space. They need to understand the difference between wasting time on social networking and creating their own activism with the power of social networking. They can play a role as an author for GV by transcending from the confined community and crossing borders. The important thing is to engage in global conversations, connect the local blogosphere with the world.

The achievement of Global Voices has been multiple. Apart from agggregating and curating global voices, it has broken down the language barriers with GV Lingua, extended support for newer voices in the underrepresented communities with its outreach arm Rising Voices, defended freedom of speech and helped the bloggers in danger with GV Advocacy and Threatened Voices.

For more reflections on Global Voices please check this special coverage page. Fellow GVer Vadim Isakov sums the achievement of Global Voices in these few sentences:

The world is talking and it has a lot of very important things to say. It's comforting to know that we have a global space where people who do not even speak the same language can become closer through their narratives. It is refreshing to see that geographical, social and economic borders shatter when people are willing to come together to make the world a better place.

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Vote for Rising Voices

Rising Voices is one of the projects that I love to be associated with. I feel my adrenaline pumping every time I read about the efforts of common people across the world and how they are overcoming all the challenges to share them online. Bangladesh's Nari Jibon is just one of those examples.

Rising Voices provides micro-grant funding for more than a dozen community blogging projects in some of the most under-represented parts of the world. (Read this post for more info)

Jillian York comments on Rising Voices:

Although the global blogosphere on the whole might be growing proportionally..the majority of bloggers reside in cities, are middle class, have traveled. The blogosphere is, in other words, filled with people you already know.

That, in a nutshell, is what’s so great about Rising Voices. The idea of taking something so simple as blogging into a rural or poor or simply disconnected community and offering it up for grabs is one thing, then seeing it through, witnessing the always-unfinished project blossom is the best thing.

Watch this trailer to know more about some of the projects:

Rising Voices has been nominated for the prestigious Deutsche Welle “Best of the Blogs Award” (B.O.B.) in the category “Best Weblog”. The nomination itself is a great recognition as more than 8,500 weblogs were suggested for nomination and a jury selected the final 11 in each of 16 categories.

You can vote for it here till November 26th and view the results here.

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Blog Action Day: Poverty and Citizen Media

My post on the blog action day has been published in Rising Voices.

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Directory of Bangladeshi Blogs

A cool new Bangladeshi Blog Directory was launched recently by Tanim. Check it out (click the image):

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Blog Day

I almost forgot that today is the 4th blog day. Celebrate!

Here is my recommendation of Five English blogs on Bangladesh:

• An ordinary citizen - A pediatrician's musing on politics and current affairs.
• Joi Bangla.info - Events and travel in Bangladesh.
• Dhaka - A photoblog on Dhaka city
  
• Back to Bangladesh - An expatriate returns to his homeland after 30 years
• Desher Chobi - The face of my motherland, a photoblog.
  

Five Bangla Blogs:

• গ্লোবাল ভয়েসেস বাংলা সংস্করণ - পৃথিবী কথা বলছে, আপনি কি শুনছেন বা পড়ছেন?
  
• না বলা কথা - দৃষ্টিপাতের বাংলা ব্লগ
• বিদ্যাকুট - সাহিত্য এবং সমসাময়িক কথন
• লুৎফর রহমান নির্ঝর - ব্যক্তিগত কথন
• সীমাহীন সংলাপ - ঢাকা-টরন্টোর ভালোবাসায় মিলেমিশে বেড়ে ওঠা কোনো একজনের সংলাপের সীমাহীনতা।
  

I hope you like these recommendations.


Technorati tag: BlogDay2008

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Makeover

This was long due. I was planning to change the template of my blog for better management of contents and I was already getting complaints from the users. I realized that the layout which looks alright in my laptop's wide screen may be shown broken in others pcs.

So I have chosen a new template. I am still fine tuning it. Please let me know your feedback.

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Bangla blogging platform banned in Bangladesh?

Since 15th of July many readers/bloggers of the Bangla blogging platform Sachalayatan (around 300 bloggers and 500 readers per day) are complaining that they cannot access it from Bangladesh. However they could access it via proxy.

BDNews24.com reported it today (translated summary):

There was a complaint that a Bangla Blog named Sachalayatan has been blocked in Bangladesh. Arup Kamal, One of the founders of the blog told BDNews24.com from Malaysia over phone that "after posting an article on war-criminals recently the site has been banned."

He confirmed that it can be accessed everywhere in the world except Bangladesh. Sachalayatan is an online writers forum which focuses on literature and contemporary issues.

Another Bangla Daily Prothom Alo reported the news with a question mark "Is Sachalayatan banned?" (translated excerpts):

We have asked Mr. ABM Habibur Rahman, head of the internet division of BTCAL whether this is true or not. He refused to comment. The blog authority have said that there is no technical error as it can be accessed elsewhere in the world.

A blogger of Sachalayatan talked with the head of BTCAL internet division and comments that it has been censored in Bangladesh.

I condemn this heinous act if its true. Please spread the news.

For the readers in Bangladesh, you can use any of these proxies to enter the site.

Update: Sources reported that it was a ban on a illegal VOIP soft-switch bearing the same IP. So Sachalayatan was the collateral damage of the ban. But the authority never confirmed or commented on this. Sachalayatan can now be seen from Bangladesh as it has recently changed its IP.

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List of Bangladeshi Blogs

I know it has been more than a year since I last compiled the list of notable Bangladeshi Blogs. Bangladeshi Bangla Blogs have been growing at a exponential pace. However the blogs written in English did not grow much. As usual some good blogs have ceased to exist and some excellent blogs have surfaced.

So I have done some house cleaning and here is the list (arranged in no particular order):

Blogs in English:

AMERICAS:

Active:
* Or how I learned to stop worrying -USA
* Shada Kalo - USA
* In the middle of nowhere - USA
* Dhakaশহর - USA
* Inspirations and creative thoughts - USA
* Abeer -USA
* Sajeeb Wajed Joy - USA
* Lungis.com - USA
* Ashiq's Blog - USA
* the chronicles of rabab-ia - USA
* Anthology -USA
* Green, How I Want You Green -USA
* Ajaira Pechaal - USA
* Amra Kojon Around The Clock - USA
* My thoughts - USA
* Blog Cabin - USA
* First we take Manhattan -USA
* Words & Bites -USA
* Bid Chronicles -USA
* Jagrook Bangalee -USA
* The Muse -USA
* Universe of Disturbance -USA
* Tacit -USA
* Xanthis -USA
* Mezba's blog -Canada
* A sunshine too brief -Canada
* The Bengali Fob says -Canada
* ..>Insert clever title here<.. -Canada
* Captain Chaos - Canada
* Bangladesh Watchdog -Canada
* Only Three Notes -Canada

Dormant:
* Naeem Mohaiemen/Shobak.org - USA
* Life in Champaign - Urbana - USA
* Ahsan's rant - USA
* Optically active - USA
* Mudphud chickness - USA
* Sajjad's weekly blogs -USA
* Beyond my mind - USA
* My Days - USA
* Blissful days of my life... - Canada
* Ipshita’s blog -Canada
* Faruq Faisel -Canada

AFRICA:

* Bangladeshi in Ivory Coast

EUROPE:

Active:
* E Bangladesh -UK
* imperfect|world|2008 -UK
* Addafication - USA & UK
* Serious golmal -UK
* Past Present and Future -UK
* BangladeshWebBlogs - UK
* Bangla in use globally - UK
* Fug's Blog - UK
* My Dear Bangladesh - UK
* No more shisha - UK
* The Thing About This Is... - UK
* Journal of a Disturbed Mind -Norway
* Easy come easy go, little high little low - Sweden
* Tasneem Khalil - Sweden
* Skakia's spot -Sweden
* Gagan (From My Lil Window) - Finland
* The 3rd world view-Germany

Dormant:
* Cathersis -UK
* The color of rain -UK
* Me, myself and Bangladesh - UK
* Thought, and thereafter -UK
* Bangladesh and our thoughts - Ireland

OCENIA:

* Mukti - Australia
* Ulta manush -Australia
* AuddieLand - Australia
* C'est la vie -Australia
* Tan Curve -Australia
* My World -Australia
* My Readings -Australia
* One Knowledge, One Work - Australia

EAST ASIA:
* A sneak peek into Yawar's mind - Malaysia
* Glittergirl -Singapore
* Journey2Infinitive -Singapore
* Nadine Update -Singapore

SOUTH ASIA:

Active:
* ShahidulNews - Bangladesh
* An Ordinary Citizen - Bangladesh
* Life in Eskaton - Bangladesh
* Bangladesh from our View - Bangladesh
* Tahmina's Weblog - Bangladesh
* Dhaka Dweller - Bangladesh
* Bangladesh Corporate Blog -Bangladesh
* Creating the Longest Marketing Idea Chain in the World -Bangladesh
* Bangladesh and Media -Bangladesh
* South Asia biz -Bangladesh
* Law Chronicles Online -Bangladesh
* The Bangladesh poet of impropriety -Bangladesh
* Shah Zaman Mazumder's Blog - Bangladesh
* Angelmorn - Bangladesh
* eLeCtRiKbLuEs - Bangladesh
* Dhumay Adda - Bangladesh
* The story teller -Bangladesh
* Bangladesh Blogger - Bangladesh
* Bangladesh Talk - Bangladesh
* Little dogs day -Bangladesh
* Scattered words -Bangladesh
* Himu's Window -Bangladesh
* Bitter sweet symphony -Bangladesh
* Black and grey - Bangladesh
* Conversations with an Optimist - Bangladesh
* Nothing to lose and Nothing to gain.. - Bangladesh
* Ideas for brighter Bangladesh - Bangladesh
* Why did Bangladesh cross the road? -Bangladesh
* BD Fact -Bangladesh
* Promethean Dreamer - Bangladesh
* Lifeless Ordinary -Bangladesh
* Dhaka (underground) -Bangladesh
* Ondhokar theke alor pothe -Bangladesh
* Khan is Khan - Bangladesh
* Cruel, crazy beautiful world - Bangladesh
* Of the world and boiled eggs - Bangladesh
* Monwar's Blog - Bangladesh
* Russel's cyber journal - Bangladesh
* Bunch of me - Bangladesh
* Abar Zigay - Bangladesh
* Desh calling -Bangladesh
* Life, dreams and reality -- Sohel's blog
* The crystal cave -Bangladesh
* Boolean Dreams -Bangladesh
* Hasan's blog -Bangladesh
* blog.sanjoykumar.com -Bangladesh
* Khorshed Khokon, MBA -Bangladesh
* The Urchin's Own - Bangladesh
* Ashraf's Column - Bangladesh
* Naz's Diary - Bangladesh
* Nawed - Fortunately Unfortunate or Unfortunately Fortunate -Bangladesh
* Shaon's Weblog -Bangladesh
* Hatti Matim Tim -Bangladesh
* Share the Magic -Bangladesh
* Maverick Tanvir's Journal -Bangladesh
* Back to Bangladesh -Bangladesh
* Global Experiences -Bangladesh
* pieces of me... -Bangladesh
* Shananaus -Bangladesh
* Nisshobdo Rati -Bangladesh
* Bangladesh: The Competent Land -Bangladesh
* Kapalicana - Bangladesh
* My Bangladesh - Bangladesh
* eduBangla.com, Education anywhere! - Bangladesh
* BanglaFootball.net - Bangladesh
* Joy Bangla Blog - Bangladesh
* Here I am… - Bangladesh
* EngineerRower in Bangladesh - Bangladesh
* Ahmad Ferdous Bin Alam - Bangladesh
* Arif's Blog -India
* Annabelle -India

Dormant:
* Adda - Bangladesh
* The song of my life - Bangladesh
* Close your eyes & try to see- Bangladesh
* Ahsan's Laboratory - Bangladesh
* Apache007 - Bangladesh
* Fun And Jokes with Morals - Bangladesh
* Ex Nihilo -Bangladesh
* Just another day -Bangladesh
* Spoony Writer -Bangladesh
* S Mehreen's digital portfolio -Bangladesh
* Mishuk’s Perspective© LIVE from Dhaka - Bangladesh
* Brainstorm - Bangladesh
* deshi Blog - Bangladesh
* Shawrav's Blog - Bangladesh
* Imran Hashim's Tech. Blog - Bangladesh
* Dak Bangla intelligence scan - Bangladesh

Organization Blogs, event blogs and journals on Bangladesh:

* Unheard Voices - A drishtipat group blog initiative -USA & UK
* Drishtipat Writers Collective
* The Progressive Bangladesh
* Joy Bangla: Events and Travel in Bangladesh
* BRAC Blog -USA
* Concern Worldwide, Bangladesh
* The Dhaka Project
* LiveJournal Bangladesh community blogs -Mostly USA
* Adhunika Blog -USA
* Shuchinta -USA
* Cehtona 71 -USA
* GUPSHUP -USA
* Onnesha.TK
* Disha Bangladesh -Bangladesh
* Free Sheikh Hasina
* Change Bangladesh - one step at a time -USA
* Bangladesh Military Forces Blog
* Somewhere in Dhaka
* Lamb School - Bangladesh
* BlueNote
* The Chobi Mela Files
* Global Voices Online on Bangladesh

Blogs by persons of Non Bangladesh Origin on their experiences in Bangladesh:

Active:
* The uncultured Project
* Morris the pen
* bideshi blue
* What's cooking abroad?
* Expanding Dr. Yunus’ Sphere of Influence…
* Haseen♥Mawa♥Views
* Akash and Nila
* Madame Boss
* MikeyLeung.ca
* The Dhaka diaries
* Window on my world
* Gabrielles Blog
* banglabravader
* Kristin Boekhoff
* Bangladesh Connections
* Wading Through Water

Archive:
* A Whisper from the heart
* Root: Adventure in Bangladesh
* Bangers and mash
* Bangladesh backchat
* Dhaka diary
* Sarah's boble
* Dana in Bangladesh
* The Yacoub ramblings v.2
* To Bangladesh and back
* Kelly in Bangladesh
* Bideshi blonde
* The world around
* Bdeshini
* Bangladesh Barta
* Lucy in Bangladesh
* OrangenSaftNotiz.de -In German
* Aumi in Bangladesh -In German
* Alex and Jake in Bangladesh
* A Blank Page
* Benji Braves Bangladesh
* Lyndsay Hersikorn
* Adventure in Bangladesh
* Roland's Journal

Some notable Bangladeshi photoblogs:

* Nazzina
* Desher Chobi - The face of my motherland
* Dhaka Daily Photo
* M A K Photo
* Andrew Biraj
* Palash Khan

Blogs in Bangla

Blogging Platform, directories and aggregators:
* বাঁধ ভাঙার আওয়াজ-The largest Bangla blogging platform with thousands of blogs in Bangla
* সচলায়তন-Online writers forum in Bangla
* আমার ব্লগBangla Blogging Platform
* এভারগ্রীন বাংলা ব্লগBangla Blogging Platform
* প্যাঁচালী - বাংলা ব্লগিং প্লাটফর্ম
* বাংলা ব্লগস্ - list of Blogs in Bangla script maintained by Debashish
* বাংলা ইউনিকোড ব্লগ Bangla Unicode Blog Aggregator
* গ্লোবাল ভয়েসেস অনলাইন: পৃথিবী কথা বলছে। আপনি কি শুনছেন? - Global Voices Online Bangla Version

Bangladeshi:
* না বলা কথা
* উত্স সন্ধানে
* …করি বাংলায় চিত্কার…
* ছেঁড়া পাতায় কথামালা
* আসিফ আহমেদ অনীকের বাংলা ব্লগ
* অমি আজাদ
* সসংকোচ প্রকাশের দুরন্ত সাহস
* আমি এবং আমার পৃথিবী
* পুড়ে ছাই ধ্বংসস্তুপ থেকে বেঁচে উঠি পুর্ণবার
* রয়েসয়ে
* নিরিখ বান্ধিলাম দুই নয়নে……
* বিবর্ণ আকাশ এবং আমি….
* ভয়েস অফ বাংলাদেশী ব্লগারস
* এইটা তোমার গান
* প্রাত্যহিক ভ্যাজর ভ্যাজর
* কবিয়াল
* অজ্ঞাতবাস
* ধৃসর গোধুলী
* সাধক শন্কু
* বলো গো
* মোকাবেলা
* খিচুড়ী ব্লগ
* আড্ডা
* ভালবাসা
* হাজার বর্ষা রাত………
* কাকশ্য পরিবেদনা!
* আধুলি জমানোর ম্যাচবক্স
* কীন ব্রীজে গোধুলি এল অন্তরালে কালান্তর ভোর
* দিল কা লাড্ডু
* অনন্ত ন্বপ্ন
* ..খেরোখাতা..
* যাপিত জীবন
* বাংলা ভাষী
* বাংলা ভাষা
* সুহ্রদ সরকার
* সম্ভাবনার মৃত্যু ঘটুক … নতুন সম্ভাবনার তাগিদে
* সীমাহীন সংলাপ
* যূথচারী
* আলী মাহমেদের ব্লগিং
* মাহবুব সুমন ও তার অগাবগা বচন
* শুভ্র প্রকাশ পালের ব্লগ
* অলস বিকেলের শেষ রোদ
* শেঁকড়ের সন্ধানে
* টকিজ
* খসড়া কবির খসড়া কবিতা
* আমার ভাঙা পথের রাঙা ধূলা
* স্বপ্নলোক
* হিডেন হার্ট
* ত্রসরেণু অরণ্যে
* গ্লোবাল মিডিয়া
* আমাদের কথা -নারী জীবন বাংলা ব্লগ
* New Gaul Order -USA
* Ontorjatra
* আলোকধেনু
* জিকোবাজি
* কাপালিকানা
* আবজাব
* মুক্তাঙ্গন: নির্মাণ ব্লগ

Indian:
* স্লোগান দিতে গিয়ে
* আমার কিছু বক্কা
* খোলা জানালা
* মনের পাতা
* ট্রিভিয়াল বাইটস
* ধূসর ফিনিক্স …এবং কোমল গান্ধার
* বিবর্ণ কবিতা
* জীবনানন্দ দাশের কবিতা

More Bangla online Links here

And finally some Bangladeshi Blog and news aggregators:

* Planet Bangla
* EIN News Bangladesh readers picks
* Bdblogs.com, Home of Bangladeshi blogs

Previous update: (For links of stale blogs which I have removed)

This is not an exhaustive list. Please let me know in the comment section if you want to include more blogs here.

Update: Now we have a comprehensive Bangladeshi bloggers Directory called BDBloggerz. Check it out:



Technocrati tags: Bangladesh, Bangladeshi blogs

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New Blogger

Welcome Dr. Mahathir Mohammad to Blogging.

(Via Global Voices)

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Cyber journalism in Bangladesh

BDNews24 does a report on cyber journalism in Bangladesh. Although the report is informative, it fails to portray the Bangladeshi Blogosphere. Its sad that the mainstream media fails to highlight all the good work that are being done by the Bangladeshi bloggers.

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From the Bangladeshi Blogosphere: Poverty, Homosexuality and Travel

In this week's roundup we will highlight some of the discussions happening in the Bangladeshi Blogosphere on the issues of Poverty, LGBT and Travel .

Poverty:

Bangladesh is a developing country and the main problem of this country is overpopulation. It has one of the highest population density among the worlds big countries. Although the reduction in the growth of population to 1.7 percent (3% in the '70s) is a miracle its vast rural population with their simple style of living are dropping its per capita income average to make it a poor country. It is almost self-sufficient in food for its population of 140 million (over 90%) if no natural calamity strikes in a year. We look at the Blogosphere to see how the country is fighting to get out of the cycle of poverty.

Shawn Ahmed of The Uncultured Project posts an investigative video report on the young hardworking Poor of Rural Bangladesh. He comments:

If poverty could be eliminated solely by the hard work and determination of the poor, then third world poverty would have ended a long time ago. The poor in the developing world are some of the hardest working people on the planet....I once again point out something I learned long ago: the poor aren’t lazy.

Here is the video produced by Shawn (used under creative commons license):



Bangladesh's fight back to reduce poverty is largely contributed by its clothing industries which flourished from the late eighties. Lower income class women used to have no options other than working as housemaids for food, lodging and a small amount of money, now work in thousand of garments and other factories. And the proliferation of micro-credit introduced by the Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus targeted women to help them get out of poverty. And this had impacted a great deal in empowering women in a predominantly Muslim society.

Dr. Kathryn Ward of Bideshi Blue is a co-founder of Nari Jibon project, a provider of alternative skills for women, which has done commendable job in providing low cost classes in Bangla, tailoring, English, and computers. Kathy informs:

Many of our students have gone on to develop their own businesses, improve their salaries from literacy in Bangla and skills, jobs in offices and NGOs, and pursue their higher education with computer and improved skills in English and Bangla speaking, writing, and reading.

Although there are many such organization working in Bangladesh Nari Jibon has done a bit more. With a Rising Voices grant it has brought working class women of Dhaka towards blogging who are telling the world the stories their lives, struggles and joys. Listen to Kathy discussing the benefits of blogging for Bangladeshi Women in a radio interview.

Gay Community

From Drishtipat blog we are pointed to an article published in Himal South Asian magazine which sheds a light into the Bangladeshi gay community. As homosexuality is still a taboo in the society people are using the internet to form a virtual community and meeting place of the gay-identified men in Bangladesh.

It was in late 2002 that the first online gay group for Bangladeshis – a Yahoo group called BOB, for Boys Only Bangladesh – was started by a handful of educated men. Tired of looking for other gay men in public places such as the Ramna Park hangout, they were hoping to build friendship ties online so as to begin talking about their sexuality comfortably. Since BOB is the biggest congregation of gay-identified men in Bangladesh, it has since come to be seen as something of a barometer of the gay community in the country. As such, BOB helps to gauge the political aspirations of this group – and, more recently, has provided a window into how the past year of emergency rule has affected the gay community of Bangladesh.

Travel:

Joybangla.info, a travel blog from Bangladesh informs:

After many delays, interruptions, disagreements and a fence, the train ride between Kolkata and Dhaka will begin running again on 14 April.

Bodda in Scattered Words Blog had taken a new year's resolution that he will visit places in Bangladesh and blog about it. The blogger visits Kushtia, which is famous for Lalon, the singing mystic of Bengal and Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali Nobel Laureate. Raza Rumi has more on Lalon Fakir.

Ahmed Sharif writes a photo essay in his PhotoBlog "Desher Chobi" after his visit to Lawachara Rain Forest & Sreemangal.

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Bangladesh: Bloggers discussing cinema, politics, health, photography and history

(First published in Global Voices Online)

The Bangladeshi film industry nicknamed Dhallywood used to produce decent films for the Bangladeshi society. But with the competition of superior quality pictures from Hollywood and Bollywood, which conquered Bangladesh market and the people with the help of cheap bootleg VCD/DVDs, Dhallywood was in trouble in the last decade. Keeping the strict censorship rule in a predominantly Muslim society in mind, the Dhallywood producers invented new ways to attract viewers with saucier and violent scenes as well as stories and using colorful explicit posters.



Shafiur of imperfect world 2008 shares 8 posters from his collection of almost 500 posters to let us have an idea of what Dhallywood offers now- a- days. Click on the image to view those.

Politics

“The rule of law is essential for society to live without fear. For it to apply, it must start at the top.”

World renowned photojournalist Shahidul Alam comments the above in a photo essay on the existing rule of law (or the absence of it) in Bangladesh. Click here for the photo essay.

Health

Recently an email about maltreatment and death of a patient in a Dhaka clinic was widely circulated among the Bangladeshis. Life in Eskaton posts it to portray the sorry state of the private clinics who are just cash mongers and negligent in service.

The blogger shares another story about his father’s MRI investigation in a diagnostic center in Dhaka. Being a heart patient he had to take some cautions. His mother detected that from a display in a board and rushed to alert doctors before they proceeded with the investigation.

He asks:

"Lucky for us, my mother is a sensible woman. And a person who could read English instructions being used as decorative items inside the hospital. What if it was some innocent man from a rural area who can’t read? How can one accept negligence of this magnitude from doctors who appear so smart and intelligent?"

Photography



Russell John posts in BP Blog (Official Blog of Bangladeshi Photographers) a collage of 110 photos which are on display in the Sidr Aid Photography Exhibition 2008 being held in Dhaka.

History

There is a controversy in Bangladesh brewed by the dynastic political descendants of two architects of Bangladesh’s liberation - the father of the nation and ex-prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and ex-president General Ziaur Rahman, on the issue of who declared the independence of Bangladesh. We have seen text books have been rewritten during the tenure of BNP (headed by Zia’s wife Khaleda Zia) and Awamy League (headed by Shiekh Mujib’s daughter Sheikh Hasina) claiming their versions of the history.

Blogger Mashuqur Rahman and freedom fighter and liberation war historian M. M. Rahman Jalal did an extensive research on this and published the revealing facts. Please read the post to find out the truth.

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