This paper analyses the challenges of reconciling the need for strong data privacy technologies with the US Federal Government’s demand for access to encrypted data to combat national security threats — a concept known as ‘exceptional access’. Using the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack as a jumping-off point, this research combines public statements and arguments … Continue reading Civil Liberty vs. National Security in Encryption Debates: Exceptional Access and Trust Deficit
I Have Been in Psychotherapy for 8 Years. This Is What I Learnt.
As someone who has gone through psychotherapy and counselling for the past 8 years, working through depression, anxiety and trauma, I can attest mental health is an urgent, yet difficult and highly nuanced conversation for our society today. I'm thrilled to see people are more willing to talk, unlearn and seek support now than they … Continue reading I Have Been in Psychotherapy for 8 Years. This Is What I Learnt.
How Pandemics Should Not End
Published in Dhaka Tribune | May 13, 2020Photos by Mahmud Hossain Opu Dhaka’s streets are no longer empty. Shops are slowly reopening. There are rickshaws and cars. Traffic is beginning to pile on. Emerging out of a 43-day “lockdown”, some are calling the country’s guidelines in limiting public interactions a “new normal”. Most people, including … Continue reading How Pandemics Should Not End
Countries with Large Populations Are Just Getting Hit with the Pandemic
New analysis shows countries like India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil and Indonesia are rapidly approaching high death tolls. Click for details.
Will Easing Social Distancing Save the Poor?
Published in Berkeley Public Policy Journal | April 22, 2020 Co-authored with Rifaiyat Mahbub Since the implementation of lockdowns in developing countries, debates have ensued on whether the poor will starve to death before the virus kills them. People are on the streets demanding the right to wages and food. In the US, a country with a much larger GDP … Continue reading Will Easing Social Distancing Save the Poor?
The Future of Digital is Human
Rafia dreads going to her phone carrier’s customer service center. Her commute to work at the local clinic is roughly forty minutes, while she spends at least an hour and half, inclusive of traffic, in a public bus to reach the nearest center. In addition to standing in the bus in sweltering Dhaka summer, longer … Continue reading The Future of Digital is Human
Losing Our Guardian Angel to COVID-19
In the fall of 1998, Niloufer Manzur sent a letter to her students in Sunbeams. Dhaka, along with the rest of the country, was completely flooded. Millions were homeless. Schools were cancelled. In her letter, Mrs. Manzur asked her students to be patient and give to charity. She was optimistic we will emerge out of … Continue reading Losing Our Guardian Angel to COVID-19
Bangladesh men’s cricket team gets 9 times more in monthly pay than women
While it's exciting the Bangladesh's national women's league just won Asia Cup, it comes as little surprise that our women's league is paid very little compared to the national men's team. I did some basic digging on available data (sources below) and create a quick-n-dirty plot of monthly salary by grade (players are divided in various … Continue reading Bangladesh men’s cricket team gets 9 times more in monthly pay than women
Mapping daily influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh camps
https://sdiya.carto.com/builder/0ba9002e-4737-49bb-a45d-c7efe9be104e/embed Data: UNHCR, IOM and field volunteers working at Balukhali refugee camp. Working on future iterations.
Applying to Grad Schools in the U.S.
I go to the Goldman School of Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley, and I get tons of emails requesting for information on the application process. I thought it's best to put everything in a blog post. Between working at One Degree Initiative Foundation, the countless coaching centers and the numerous Facebook groups, I … Continue reading Applying to Grad Schools in the U.S.
