Published in The Daily Star | 28 January 2024 In Bangladesh, a common joke revolves around the absence of a Bangla equivalent for ‘privacy’. Goponiyota suggests confidentiality, and ekaante thaka, used as a verb, implies leaving someone alone. Some argue the lack of a specific term in our vocabulary might suggest a perceived absence of … Continue reading Do the poor have a right to privacy
When Digital Rights Become Human Rights
Published in The Daily Star | September 21, 2018 Private university student Sumon (not his real name) had already gone to bed when the police came to his bachelor pad, last month. The cops were on a “block raid”—a security exercise that Dhaka Metropolitan Police executed over several areas in the city in the aftermath … Continue reading When Digital Rights Become Human Rights
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
The Weaker Sex
July 8, 2012 / The Daily Star It is no longer uncommon to read news or be victimized by eveteasing. Although the High Court passed a law in 2010 that labeled eveteasing as a sexual offense and committed the guilty party to jail or imposed a fine – the phenomenon has only gotten more rampant … Continue reading The Weaker Sex
Where have all the Projectors Gone
March 18, 2012 / The Daily Star As the floor mama insisted on switching off the multimedia projector, students were queuing in front of the computer, hurriedly plugging in their pen drives and copying the week’s lecture. I pushed past the queue in hopes of getting my USB drive plugged in – I had another … Continue reading Where have all the Projectors Gone
Liberating the Liberal Arts
August 5, 2012 / The Daily Star I come from a family of doctors. This isn’t the typical family where your parents are doctors and you think you know all about medical science. In my family, everyone you can possibly imagine as part of the extended family and beyond is a doctor. It goes to … Continue reading Liberating the Liberal Arts
Brave New World
September 16, 2012 / The Daily Star Mark Zuckerberg really messed things up for us. As one of the world’s youngest CEOs running the third largest ‘country’, he has given the rest of the world an impression that sitting in front of a computer can be the most profitable business one can fathom, and anyone … Continue reading Brave New World
Education 3.0
October 7, 2012 / The Daily Star I’ve always been gravely disappointed by the commuting infrastructure of Dhaka. Minus the traffic and heat, finding a CNG or a bus seat in itself is a challenge. For someone who lives far from both work and university, my mornings begin with worrying about how I can make … Continue reading Education 3.0
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