Bangladesh’s biggest city plans to ban cycle rickshaws| THE ECONOMIST

Millions of people could lose their livelihoods DHAKA |For many Westerners, the cycle rickshaw (also known as the cyclo or pedicab) is an iconically Asian form of transport. In fact, most Asian cities have long since abandoned them (and a few European and North American cities have taken them up). But in Bangladesh the cycle... Continue Reading →

Featured post

Bangladesh tries to muffle the siren song of the capital

But climate change displaces farmers and factories lure them MONGLA | Industrial zones, residential developments, clinics and universities—the mayor of Mongla’s ideas for his town’s expansion seem a bit ambitious. Mongla has a mere 40,000 people; his office is in a crumbling building hemmed in by forest. But in five years, Zulfikar Ali insists, Mongla... Continue Reading →

Featured post

Seeking Peace: Stories of Women and War | Episode 1

Episode 1: Why Women with Kristen Bell Kristen Bell says women are an untapped solution to today’s biggest problems. And: we hear from Rohingya women who are building a case against the government of Myanmar. We take you to the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh, where a group of Rohingya women are building a case against... Continue Reading →

Featured post

After making peace with Eritrea, can Africa’s new star leader usher in peace for Ethiopia? | THE TELEGRAPH

They share a common language, a shared Christian heritage, and hundreds of years of history. But for more than 20 years, Ethiopians and Eritreans were separated by a bitter conflict and militarised frontier sealed as tightly as the Berlin wall or the Korean demilitarised zone. Now, Eritreans and Tigrayan Ethiopians are mingling again - in what has been hailed... Continue Reading →

Featured post

World Cup fever stokes bitter rivalries in Bangladesh, despite the fact it doesn’t have a team | THE TELEGRAPH

DESPITE the fact that its team has never qualified for the World Cup, football fans in Bangladesh are adopting other country's teams as their own, stoking bitter rivalries. Last week, rival supporters of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar fought with machetes in the town of Bandar.  One man and his son were critically wounded... Continue Reading →

Featured post

‘A lot of shame’: Rohingya camps brace for wave of babies conceived in rape | THE WASHINGTON POST

UKHIA, Bangladesh — For the thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled a violent crackdown in Burma, a new crisis looms: The babies conceived in rape are due soon. Doctors Without Borders has recorded 160 cases of pregnant rape victims between August 2017 and February 2018 in the vast refu­gee camps in Bangladesh. That number is expected to rise... Continue Reading →

Featured post

A pasteurisation machine for breast milk | THE ECONOMIST

It will help Bangladeshi mothers who work in factories FOR the feeding of babies, everyone agrees that “breast is best”. It is not, however, always convenient. Textile workers in Bangladesh, who are mostly women, are entitled to four months’ maternity leave. Once this is over, they often end up parking their children with relatives when... Continue Reading →

Featured post

One hundred years since servitude | THE ECONOMIST

The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies A century after India ended the system of indentured labour, its diaspora is building a shared identity DOOKHEE GUNGAH, born of Indian migrants, began life in 1867 in a shed in Mauritius and worked as a child cutting sugar cane. By his death in 1944, he was... Continue Reading →

Featured post

Failure to launch | THE ECONOMIST

French Guiana, in South America, seeks more autonomy from France Protests in the second-poorest of France’s overseas departments enter their fifth week OF ALL the voters fuming about neglect by out-of-touch politicians in distant Paris, the people of French Guiana have perhaps the strongest case. It is the second-poorest of France’s five overseas departments (DOMs).... Continue Reading →

Featured post

Marine Le Pen and post-colonial overseas departments | AL JAZEERA

Scattered across the globe, thousands of miles away from the mainland, France's overseas departments are often sidelined by the country's politicians - except during the run-up to presidential elections. In November, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, visited Reunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, then French Guiana in the Caribbean in December. The same month... Continue Reading →

Featured post

Belgian girls aren’t easy | THE ECONOMIST

Europe is trying to teach its gender norms to refugees. This turns out to be more complicated than it sounds WHEN Julian Creedon moved from Jersey to Réunion in 2006 the island seemed like a surfer’s paradise: “White beaches, epic waves, it was perfect.” But last month Alexandre Naussance, a 26-year-old fellow surfer, became the eighth... Continue Reading →

Featured post

Are the dogs days over?

A pet-care boom during the pandemic is unlikely to be followed by bust as lockdown ends Swantje Green and her boyfriend both grew up in the countryside with family pets. But busy careers in London and a small flat meant a dog was not an option for them as adults. Until the pandemic. They moved... Continue Reading →

How abuse and women making more money are linked — and what can be done | The Lily (The Washington Post)

A surge in female employment in Bangladesh and Zambia has disrupted traditional gender norms A recent study of female garment factory workers in Dhaka found that 52 percent had experienced some form of domestic violence over the previous year. As women’s roles change, according to the study, men seek to “punish” them for breaking with traditional gender... Continue Reading →

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑