LIFE AS IT IS

I asked around, I asked Bengali-speaking female friends and acquaintances from Bangladesh and India what they understand by the word, Freedom.  The Daily Star link When asked what freedom means to her, Ranita Ghosh Chakrabarti, an Indian American working in higher education, said, “To me, freedom is my ability to make my life’s decisions by myself. Although I will welcome suggestions and advice from family and friends, I should be able to make my own decisions without hesitation or regret. I should be the driver of my own car.”  Photo credit: Tithi Living without the fear of men eve-teasing, staring with lustful eyes, or sexually assaulting them is what many modern women understand by the word, freedom. However, “My body is mine” or “No means no” only exists in a utopian world.  Angira Nandi, who works for a Business Processing Outsourcing company in Kolkata, India, believes that financial independence is what makes a woman free. “But when her very right to safety is at s...

I am not an unsocial woman, trust me, but my mental peace is important to me, so important that I can easily shun individuals who leave me sad and irate. I do not attend large, boisterous 'deshi' parties anymore. I carefully choose my company. My conclusion from three years of attending such parties is that most people arrange and attend these get-togethers to gossip about other people's failures and inadequacies, to flaunt their own culinary accomplishments, and to flash their new wardrobes, of course.  I have realised over time that I am a complete misfit at these 'deshi' parties. I do not fit into the stifling status quo - I am not a great cook, I wear very casual clothes, and I am not an expert gossipmonger.  Also, I enjoy talking about world politics, technology, climate change, and healthy eating more than I like to talk about divorce, infertility, break-ups, extramarital affairs, clothes, jewellery, and the latest Bollywood flicks.  If I am not a misf...

It's pleasing to see that some large organizations in Bangladesh are trying to use their public exposure to promote social and environmental responsibility. Whereas most companies use advertisements to promote their products, and channel their profits into their own endeavors, a few are being unselfish. Have those large billboards ever caught your eye? I don't mean the ordinary ones, which promote electronics, housing projects, clothes, cigarettes, audio cassettes and every other possible product and service to appeal to consumers. The billboards I'm thinking of belong to an organization that is making known its name and logo in a total different way. These advertisements stand high over some of the major streets of Dhaka, on structures of steel and concrete, and on the bodies of over-bridges. Instead of highlighting the quality of their banking services, the billboards of Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd. carry messages that aim to create public awareness. These billboards ra...