In comparison to the capital, Chittagong was quite a ‘conservative’ city for many a year as far as the modern idea or trend of glamour, beauty and fashion were concerned. And nowadays, Chittagong is not much behind the capital in those terms. A remarkable change has started, slowly but steadily, in recent years to grip [...]

MICROLOANS were invented to help the poorest of the poor help themselves. Now major banks and pension funds are getting into the business, as they discover that the interest paid by the poor can produce high returns. Is it aid or exploitation? Muhammad Yunus is the banker of the poor. He took a risk and [...]

Students and women’s rights activists yesterday demanded implementation of a policy to resist sexual harassment of female students in the universities urging all to come forward to help stop recurrence of such incidents in future. The press conference was organised by Women for Women at the National Press Club in the city. At the press [...]

Toni Morrison’s ‘musically titled book Jazz is lovely, lyrical, searching and touching,’ her ‘most experimental’ sixth out of eight novels, about ‘lived reality of the people’, in the context of the ‘musical movement’ and forms the second part of Morrison’s Dantesque trilogy on African American history, beginning with Beloved 1987and ending with Paradise 1999 The [...]

Development in Bangladesh is usually segregated into two broad contextsurban and rural. However, between these two defined areas lie many market places and growth centres which do not fall within either category and are therefore escaping the eyes of the development planners. In Bangladesh, the exact number of hats or bazaars is not known to [...]

In Bangladesh, 12,000 women die needlessly every year as a result of the complications of pregnancy and childbirth. We have the knowledge and technology to prevent most of these deaths. Progress has been made in reducing maternal deaths in Bangladesh, but it needs to be faster and it needs to benefit more poor people. 2007 [...]

Stories of Change, a 55-minute documentary by young filmmakers Kamar Ahmad Simon and Sara Afreen that portrays the challenging lives of five successful women, was premiered on March 14 at the Russian Cultural centre. A panel discussion followed the screening where human rights activist Hameeda Hossain, media personality Samia Zaman and filmmaker Tareque Masud discussed [...]

To mark the International Women’s Day as well as to generate awareness against corruption, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) jointly arranged a concert at the Gulshan Youth Club on March 8. Slogans included “Stand up for Women’s Rights” and “Anti Corruption Movement and Women’s Rights Movement hand in hand now”. Famed [...]

THE recent report “Whispers to Voices” highlighted the substantial gains in women’s status in Bangladesh over the last few decades. School enrolment of girls now exceeds that of boys’, infant mortality has fallen, gender differences in survival of children have narrowed, fertility has declined dramatically, and women are now more visible in public spaces than [...]

Women have to be brought into the mainstream of national development process through economic and political empowerment in order to accelerate poverty alleviation in the country. At a roundtable in the city yesterday, women leaders and politicians said only strong political will can succeed in making women’s empowerment a reality by eliminating all kinds of [...]

Sex is one of the most essential aspects of our life and Ayurveda offers one of the best ways to lead a gratifying sex life without any artificial aids such as medicines minus side effects and other unnatural methods. Ayurvedic medicines stimulate the body to heal itself naturally. There are many Ayurvedic herbs which act [...]

Pregnant women who get flu shots protect their infants up to age of 6 months, a clinical trial shows. The study, conducted in Bangladesh and led by Mark C. Steinhoff, MD, at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, is the first definitive proof that flu vaccines benefit both mother and infant. “Our study shows that a newborn’s [...]

When two entrepreneurs examined the limited transportation options available to people living in U.S. cities, they not only saw a business opportunity, but also imagined a way to help the environment. Together they founded Zipcar Inc., the world’s largest car-sharing business. Halfway around the world in Morocco, another entrepreneur saw an opening in the marketplace [...]

The government of Bangladesh and UNICEF Thursday held the Mid-Term Review of the Country Programme of Cooperation for Bangladeshi Children and Women covering five-year period from 2006 to 2010. The overall aim of the programme is the progressive realisation of children’s rights to survival, education, development, protection and participation. It also contributes to the achievement [...]

Bangladesh Cricket Board Tuesday announced a 14-member final squad of Bangladesh National Women’s Cricket Team to participate in the four-nation Asia Cup that will begin in Sri Lanka on May 2, reports UNB. Bangladesh women’s team, by virtue of their triumph in the Asian Cricket Council tournament last year in Malaysia, earned the right to [...]