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Human Rights

Rs 5 lakh compensation to Felani’s family!

India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended its Home Ministry to pay a compensation of half a million Indian rupees to the family of murdered Bangladeshi girl Felani Khatun. The NHRC verdict stated that: “The Commission is aware that the security forces are discharging a sensitive job at the borders. They must, however, adhere to some discipline and norms while performing such duty,” adding that a compliance report be submitted from the ministry within six weeks. Quoting a BSF order, which asks its troopers to ‘exercise utmost restraint when dealing with unarmed women and children’, the verdict went on to say that Felani was an unarmed girl. As a result, the BSF constable who shot at her acted in disregard of the circular issued by the BSF Headquarters.”

Families seek justice on ‘lawless’ Indo-Bangla border

As thousands of Bangladeshis and Indians celebrated the end of one of the world’s most intractable border disputes, Fatema Khatun was quietly hopeful of finally seeing justice. Fifteen years after Khatun’s husband, Badshah Mia, was hacked to death and his body dumped on a canal bank near their home along the border, no one has been charged with his murder, reports AFP. But the mother of six is praying that this month’s historic land swap between the two countries AFP Photoalong their frontier—sparking wild celebrations—means the case will at last...

Child-marriage rates accelerate

The rate of child-marriage in Bangladesh is accelerating, even though the primitive and damaging practice is technically illegal. Photographer Allison Joyce witnessed one recent wedding between Mohammad Hasamur Rahman, 32, and Nasoin Akhter, 15. “It’s tradition for the bride to look shy and coy during the wedding,” Joyce explained to The Washington Post. “But I noticed this sadness and unspoken fear and uncertainty even when she Child marriagewas in her room with her friends before the ceremony or at the parlor with her sister (who was ...

Ensure justice for enforced disappearances: Rights bodies

The United Nations has declared August 30 as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, to remember victims of enforced disappearance and the agony of their families. The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), and FIDH join the families of disappeared victims in Bangladesh and around the world to mark this day. Our organisations call for the return of all disappeared human-rights-Bangladeshpersons to their families, and demand that the governm...

Income disparity despite economic success

Bangladesh has made great strides in expanding economic growth, extending life expectancy and cutting extreme poverty and illiteracy, yet experts warn that income disparity remains a key problem requiring urgent attention. For a first-time visitor to Dhaka, it’s hard to escape the sight of shiny imported cars jockeying for space with buses, trucks, three wheelers and other vehicles that clog the streets of the Bangladeshi capital. [caption id="attachment_19244" align="alignright" width="622"]farmers Bangladeshi farmers harvest rice on the outskirts of Dhaka, Ma...

Adventist seminar addresses domestic violence

Adventists recently responded to the challenge of domestic violence which is a national concern in Bangladesh. Leaders from the Bangladesh Adventist Union Mission (BAUM) as well as the Dhaka Seventh-day Adventist church offered a one-day seminar about domestic violence on August 15. A crowd of approximately 300 participated in this enditnow initiative. [caption id="attachment_19214" align="alignright" width="540"]seminar pix Mahuna Roy, BAUM women's ministries director, shares during an August 15 domestic violence awareness seminar in Dhaka, Bangladesh. [P...
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