“I ain’t indigenous” – reflection of a Bengali

July 28, 2011

Once upon a time, the British called us ‘blacks’, and then later the Pakistani Army called us ‘inferior race.’ Time passes, it is 2011. As International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples approaches again this year, Bangladesh is stuck in a quicksand ditch trying to figure out ‘who’ the Adibashis or indigenous of our land really are in the first place! This goes back to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party era, when ministers were first heard saying “Bangladesh has no indigenous people”, but somehow that ideology has leaked into a few heads in the Awami League as well (we hope they are the minority within the party).

Wasfia NazreenJuly 5, 2011bangladeshComment

The Crying Quarter

July, 2010

Wasfia Nazreen examines the forgotten lives of sex workers

For an average sex-worker in Bangladesh, there is never any lovemaking. There is no comfort zone, physical or mental. All life is but a rape. There is absolutely no guarantee that tomorrow's rape will be less painful than today's. In 2000, prostitution was formally legalised in the country, which set the ground for Bangladesh to be one of the few Islamic countries that do not "officially" ban prostitution. The decision to legalise prostitution by the High Court was met with anger from some Islamic groups who argued that prostitution was subject to banishment in most Muslim countries. But, in its ruling, the High Court concluded: "The right to livelihood of sex workers is enforceable as a fundamental right."

Wasfia NazreenJuly 6, 2010sex workers, bangladesh, womens rightsComment