Weekend Tribune Vol 2 Issue 41

Dhaka Tribune | vo l 2 I ssu e 41 | F R I D AY, F e b r u ary 27, 2015

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Deshi app -makers

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Cultural school

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Matir Mela

CONTENTS

1

Volume 2 | Issue 41 | February 27, 2015 News 2 News

Editor Zafar Sobhan

3 Meanwhile

Features Editor Sabrina Fatma Ahmad Asst Magazine Editor Farina Noireet Weekend Tribune Team Farhana Urmee Faisal Mahmud Tausif Sanzum Sakib Mridha

Features 4 Digital Bangladesh Conference

6 Travel

5 Digital Bangladesh Deshi appmakers

8 Post-riposte Zero Degree 12 Feature Cultural school

Morocco

14 Feature Matir Mela

Cartoons Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy Priyo Contributors Rabiul Islam Shehzaad Shams Tanusree Ghosh Rasel Ahmed Rajib Dhar Mehedi Hasan Naveed Ferdous Saqib Sarkar Dina Sobhan Graphic Md Mahbub Alam Colour Specialist Shekhar Mondal Advertisement Zia Ur Rahman Production Masum Billah Circulation Masud Kabir Pavel Website dhakatribune.com/weekend facebook.com/WeekendTrib Email your letters to: weekend@dhakatribune.com

15 Sports DU Women Cricket League 20 Event Project Dhee

Regulars 16 Tough Love 18 Stay In 19 Go Out

9 Photo story

About the cover

Ekushey Boi Mela

Editor’s note Dear Readers, In what is starting to feel like very dark times indeed, we’re hoping to bring a little spark of hope with the good things that continue to happen in spite of all the bad.

How far have we come along in our dreams for a Digital Bangladesh?

We’ve got not one, but two pieces that attempt to shed light on that question.

If you’re tired of chemical beauty, it’s time to go back to the roots of home-made skincare. Jatra shows you how.

Shrinking park lands and

crammed study schedules are robbing kids of a well-rounded education, but we’ve found a school that’s working hard to reverse that.

We’ve had Bend it like Beckham, and now we’re trying to Clock it like Kohli. Lame jokes aside, women in cricket deserve your love, so do check out our piece.

Finally, for a healthy dose of fantasy and escapism, fly to Morocco with Onetimefashionista to chase some new horizons.

Hope you have a pleasant week.

-Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

Night lights Photo: Md Rakibul Hasan

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2 News | This week

The world at a glance

Rarest big cat on Earth starting to make a comeback

Weekend Tribune Desk

Kerry defends Iran negotiations before Congress

Secretary of State John Kerry told wary lawmakers on Tuesday that it was premature to criticize nuclear negotiations with Iran before any deal can be reached to keep Tehran from developing atomic weapons.

“The president has made clear — I can’t state this more firmly — the

policy is Iran will not get a nuclear weapon,” Kerry told members of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.

“And anybody running around right now, jumping in to say, ‘Well, we don’t like the deal,’ or this or that, doesn’t know what the deal is. There is no deal yet. And I caution people to wait and see what these negotiations produce.”

Kerry testified in Congress 12 hours after returning to Washington from the latest round of talks in Geneva involving Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers. U.S. and Iranian officials reported progress on getting to a deal that would clamp down on Tehran’s nuclear activities for at least 10 years but then slowly ease restrictions.

Photo: AFP

N.Korea may have 100 atomic arms by 2020: US experts

North Korea appears poised to expand its nuclear program over the next five years and in a worst case scenario could possess 100 atomic arms by 2020, US researchers warned Tuesday.

And cutting-edge European companies could be unwittingly contributing to Pyongyang’s suspect nuclear program with their equipment diverted to the isolated country via China, they said.

Unveiling the first results of what

will be a 15-month study, Joel Wit, senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said some of their conclusions were very “disturbing.”

Although North Korea’s nuclear program remains shrouded in uncertainty, Pyongyang is currently believed to have a stockpile of some 10 to 16 nuclear weapons fashioned from either plutonium or weaponsgrade uranium.

Using satellite imagery, North Korean media reports and their deep knowledge of nuclear programs, Wit, and renowned non-proliferation expert David Albright, have drawn up three possible future scenarios based on the progress made by Pyongyang from 2009 to 2014.

Photo: AP

Pakistan police arrest schoolgirl over ‘Taliban’ extortion calls Police in Pakistan have arrested a schoolgirl for trying to extort money from wealthy men by pretending she was linked to Taliban militants, officers said on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old girl, identified only as Lubna, was arrested at the weekend in the troubled northwestern city of Peshawar after a trader complained to police.

Furqan Bilal, a senior police official, told AFP the trader said he received a phone call from an “anonymous militant” demanding

millions of rupees.

The caller threatened to kidnap the trader’s children if he did not pay up, Bilal said.

“We began an investigation, traced the number and came to know that up to 10 people have been threatened using the same number,” Bilal said.

Investigators said they were surprised when the number was monitored and it emerged the caller was a girl using special software to make her sound like a man.

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Things are starting to look up for the rarest big cat on the planet: The critically endangered Amur leopard, which is indigenous to southeastern Russia and parts of northeastern China, has doubled in population since 2007, according to a new report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Census data from Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park, which covers about 60% of the Amur leopard’s habitat, puts the number of

these wild cats at 57. That’s up from the 30 leopards counted in the area in 2007, according to the WWF. Eight to 12 additional cats were also counted in adjacent areas of China during the census, which means the total population of Amur leopards has, in fact, doubled in less than a decade. [See camera trap footage of rare Amur leopards] “Such a strong rebound in Amur leopard numbers is further proof that even the most critically endangered big cats can recover if we protect their habitat and work together on conservation efforts,” Barney Long, director of species protection and Asian species conservation for WWF, said in a statement. “There’s still a lot of work to be done in order to secure a safe future for the Amur leopard, but these numbers demonstrate that things are moving in the right direction.”

Photo: Wikimedia

Chinese rocket breaks up creating fireballs in western sky People across a wide swath of the West, from Arizona to Canada, looked up at the sky late Monday to see a cluster of weird lights followed by an orange tail streaking across the night.

The lights were not a meteor, but a Chinese rocket booster that broke apart, said Maj Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for U.S. Strategic Command.

There were no reports of damage or injuries, O’Donnell said, pointing to statistics showing there is a one in

a trillion chance of being hit by space debris.

Canadian photographer Neil Zeller was on his way home from shooting the Northern Lights when he saw the cluster of fireballs in a rural area outside of Calgary about 11pm local time.

“I’d never seen anything like it,” he said. He captured several shots of an orange streak slashed above dark trees.

Financial assistance to 146 affected vehicles owners Bottom of Form Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday handed over cheques as financial assistance to the bus, truck and other vehicle owners who were affected in the ongoing hartal and blockade programmes enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

The Prime Minister distributed the cheques for Tk4,20,65,000 to 146 owners of the 156 vehicles in the first phase at her Tejgaon office here in the morning.

Out of the financial assistance, one owner has been given highest Tk 10 lakh as the financial assistance for the damage of his or her vehicle.

Speaking on the occasion, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said some 1800 vehicles, including buses and trucks, were burned or vandalised by BNPJamaat men since January during the ongoing hartal and blockade.

He said so far owners of some 823 vehicles have submitted their applications to the Prime Minister for financial help. Of the vehicles, Quader said, 287 were torched and 536 were vandalised.

In the first phase, some 146 owners of 156 vehicles were given financial assistance by the Prime Minister for the damage of their vehicles, “The rest of the affected owners will also be given financial help in phases,” Quader added.

“The assistance of the Prime Minister is an expression of her deep and abiding commitment to the affected vehicle owners,” he said.

The Road Transport and Bridges Minister said that the Prime Minister would also provide financial help to the drivers and helpers who were killed and injured in the ongoing hartal and blockade programmes.

News: Dhaka Tribune

meanwhile ... | News

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You’re welcome

Event

How Do Free Websites Make Money?

In order to truly be a free website the provider cannot charge you fees, collect your information to sell, rent, lease, or share, or put advertising in front of you.

Needless to say, there are very few truly free websites; most that are truly free are government, institutional, school, or non-profit websites, though even many of these advertise and sell consumer information.

A school student pays her respects at the Shaheed Minar on Ekushey February.

Photo: Rajib Dhar

Say what?

Man selling his virginity for International Women’s Day - but only to someone ‘decent’

A

security guard is selling his VIRGINITY after reading about women doing the same - but his cherry comes at a high price.

Romanian Sorin Georgian Salinievici, 24, wants €2,000 (£1,476) - and says the winning bid must be from someone who “looks decent”.

“I read about girls doing this and thought if they can do it so can I,” said Salinievici, who dropped out of university as he could not afford the fees.

“Regarding her appearance, the woman that buys my virginity has to look decent. I’m not saying she has to be very beautiful, but to look normal and be a nice, honest person.”

On posters around his home town of Galati he writes: “It could be a nice present on International Women’s Day on March 8th.”

He added: “But really I am doing this to sort out my

The way most ’free’ services make money is not by selling advertising. What they sell is access to you, and information about you to advertisers, marketers and researchers, and others.

Your information is the commodity that drives the internet economy. It is collected through your online actions and the information you share.

If you read a website’s terms and conditions you should be able to see just what information is being collected and how it is shared, though many companies make it very difficult to understand the full scope of their use of your information.

Every piece of information you post, and every action you take online has commercial value to company or someone. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This trade in information lets you use the websites without paying money for your access.

financial troubles, not for fun, and I want €2,000.

“I won’t give it away for less.”

News and photo: Huffington Post

Your information helps companies provide you ads that are more targeted to your interests. It helps researchers and companies know what kind of products to design, and so on.

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Digital Bangladesh | conference

Digital World 2015 Showcasing ideas, technologies and Innovations Rabiul Islam

“W

hen we first came up with the term Digital Bangladesh, we were worried about its publicity. Now UK is adopting the same term, Digital UK, for them after us!” says computer specialist, proprietor of Ananda Computers and Bijoy Digital Mustafa Jabbar in a seminar on “Knowledge Based Society” at a Digital World 2015 Conference that continued from 9-12 February this year at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center.

This year over 40 seminars were held discussing e-governance, e-health, e-education, women in IT, mobile apps/games, BPOs, cloud, big data, social media, cyber security, export market growth and local market. (digitalworld.org.bd) Here are a few picks from the exhibition showing achievements so far in digitizing Bangladesh:

Bangabandhu satellite

Graphical Image

A replica of Bangabandhu-1 was shown at the Digital World 2015 exhibition. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and Intersputnik signed an agreement on the use of frequencies at 119.1E. This resource will be used by a satellite slated for launch in mid-2017 and expected to carry 40 transponders for telecommunications, video and audio broadcasting. The satellite can save at least $14m every year, which is now being paid to different foreign companies by the country’s 28 television channels for transmission.

The BTRC also claimed that 70% of the satellite’s revenue would come from neighboring countries while the rest would be from local sources.

(Dhaka Tribune and Intersputnik)

Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project

The country’s first 2,000 megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant will be in

Devices for Telemedicine

Nuclear Power Generation Process

operation by 2020. The power plant will employ nuclear fission process under controlled condition. The heat energy released from Uranium-235 (235U) atom nuclear fission generates electricity. According to the Einstein’s famous equation based on the theory of relativity E=mc2, 200 MeV energy will be released per 235U nucleus fission. The released energy comes from the difference in mass of a 235U atom and the total mass of the fission produces a Xenon 143 (143×e) atom and a Strontium-90 (90Sr) atom. An agreement of 500 million US Dollar state export credit by the Russian Federation for the preparatory stage of the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and MOU on the state export credit for the construction of second stage of RNPP was signed in 15 January, 2013. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited the Russian Federation. (Wikipedia and baec.org.bd)

12-Lead Standalone ECG Machine with Software

Telemedicine devices such as 12 LEAD Computerized ECG (shown in the picture), digital stethoscope, localized lung ventilation monitorand respiration rate meter specially for children (electrical impedance based), X ray view box, digital microscope, Multipurpose digital imaging camera on stand (2MP) are developed and designed by the Department of Biomedical Physics & Technology of Dhaka University, Bangladesh under the leadership of Prof.

K Siddique-e Rabbani.

issues, women’s rights, society and tradition, violence against women and health in general anonymously which are answered by professionals.

In its vision Maya states, “Maya aims to become a positive brand that empowers women in Bangladesh from all walks of life. With the web as the platform, Maya aims to reach women both online and offline through multiple channels.” (maya.com.bd)

DAAK

E-Braille

Bangladesh Hi-Tech Parks

First version of E-Braille

Hi-Tech Park

To foster economic development of the country, the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) was established in 2010. BHTPA is responsible for the establishment and expansion of Hi-Tech Parks within the country such as Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, Jessore Software Technology Park, Mohakhali IT Village, Silicon City Rajshahi, Electronic City Sylhet, and Freelancer Institute Natore. The first phase of the Basic Infrastructure Development Project for Hi-Tech Park at Kaliakoir has started at a cost of Tk 26 crore on a 232 acres of land. (htpbd. org.bd)

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This hand glove will give blind people the opportunity to read the texts written on smartphones.

There are six sensor points in the glove which represent six dots of the braille cell. These hand gloves use Bluetooth to connect to an app on the smartphones. As the user moves his hands on the smartphone screen, the sensors vibrate letting the user know which texts he is touching.

The makers of this prototype are Jonayet Hossain, Shaifur Rahman and Samiul Haque who teamed up as RenoScience and built it within 48 hours spending just Tk 2000.

Maya Apa

Maya Apa lets its user inquire about women’s health, maternity, teenage

DAAK is a mobile application which aims to prevent sexual harassment.

Using real time community engagement, people within 1km radius will receive distress sms and a call will go to nearest police station when someone finds themselves in an inconvenient situation. It can also track contacts using internet to help them get out of such situations. DAAK won an award in 2014's National Hackathon on Sexual Harassment category. n

Deshi app-makers | Digital Bangladesh

Claps for apps!

John Messer, president of Invictus US Corporation, talks about how Bangladeshi app-developers can jump on the bandwagon of the future Faisal Mahmud

The internet has changed everything that we do. You can now hire talented developers at any place in the world to develop your products. As a businessman, we obviously wanted the best output with the lowest investment, of course, without compromising the quality. Bangladeshi developers perfectly fit into that profile to organise an app development competition titled “Innovation Next Generation” in Bangladesh, which will include prize money of a whopping US $25,000 for the winner.

What is it about?

T

he rise of smartphone usage has established a thriving market for mobile applications in the country.

More than 70% of the country’s internet users are using it through their mobile network and the demand for customised and business apps is increasing day by day.

Due to this boom in mobile apps, on December 5 last year, the government organised the National Hackathon, organised under the Information and Technology

“Innovation next Generation” had a booth at the “Digital World 2015” the sole purpose of which was to disseminate information about the competition.

In a conversation with Weekend Tribune, John Messer, president of Invictus US Corporation said that they have created the competition to bring all the mobile app developers of the country to submit the concept or idea of their apps to their corporation.

“We are going to select a few winners from the list of participants.

Then we will finance them to develop their apps and aid them in bringing their products in to the market,” said Messer.

Messer said that while at he Digital World event, he observed the technological innovations and advancements the country has been undertaking. All the departments and ministries of the governments had stalls at the event and they showcased their contributions towards achieving the vision of digital Bangladesh.

“I think this is fantastic. This is probably the best time to invest in Bangladesh’s technological sector.”

Photo: Courtesy

Division’s National Mobile Application Awareness and Capacity Building Programme.

The objective was to find innovative solutions to 10 issues related to question paper leaks, sexual harassment, traffic congestion, road security, corruption, reproduction heath, sanitation, cyclone centre management, and safe water supply.

Now, to take the country’s mobile app development into the fast lane, Invictus US Corporation, a New York based venture capitalist firm is going

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The types of apps

When asked what type of apps the competition will prefer, the US based venture capitalist said that they want to help the young entrepreneurs in the country and want to take their concepts into the market.

With new innovations and new business ideas, the whole market has become diversified. People now need apps to facilitate their works as well as for entertainment.

“So if we see an app idea which can change certain existing concepts in the market and make it better, we will

go for it.”

“It can even be the next angry bird or the next whatsapp.”

Why Bangladesh?

Messer said that the US is the biggest mobile app buyer in the world and Bangladesh is a large supplier of these apps. Many US companies are using customised apps for their official purposes, and these are being developed in Bangladesh.

“The internet has changed everything that we do. You can now hire talented developers at any place in the world to develop your products. As a businessman, we obviously wanted the best output with the lowest investment, of course, without compromising the quality.

Bangladeshi developers perfectly fit into that profile.”

According to him, the sky is the limit in terms of the future in the South Asian region. “This region represents 23% of the world’s population but in mobile app world, it represents only 7%. It has immense potential to grow.”

Mobile apps are among the fastest growing sectors in the software industry and it alone generated at least one third of the total revenue earned by the software sector in the past year in the whole world.

“The situation in Bangladesh is no different, he said. Observing the mobile app boom, many software companies here have started developing apps. Especially freelancers who have their accounts in popular online bidding websites like “odesk” and “elance,” Messer added.

“Internet penetration across the globe has been increasing in a geometric manner because of mobile internet. So mobile apps are the future. Competition like this will only provide Bangladesh’s tech savvy youth the much needed impetus to move forward.” n

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6 Travel | Morocco

Morocco: the to-do list M

orocco is increasingly becoming a popular destination for Bangladeshi tourists who want to put first steps in Africa beyond the usual destinations such as Egypt for example. While we ourselves do many things like a typical tourist we always make sure we go off track and experience something unique. For the readers of Dhaka Tribune, we can certainly recommend the top 10 must do activities / places to see if they are planning for a trip to this gorgeous North African country.

Enjoy a Caleche ride in Marrakech This is the most unique and authentic way to explore Marrakech. Best done as the first thing early in the morning to avoid rush hour traffic and usual chaos that ensues later in the city.

The Caleches follow a certain route around the Medina and ride duration can vary from an hour to two.

Experience Royal Hammam at La Maison Arabe Do not leave Morocco without doing this. Do this preferably the day before you are returning home. And don’t do it elsewhere – you have to do it at La Maison Arabe to understand how to get ported back in time and be treated like royalty. This experience involves a luxurious hot water bath and body scrub using the authentic Moroccan herbal oils and toiletries which will leave a lasting effect on your skin and state of mind.

Get lost in the offbeat fairy tale blue town of Chefchaouen If you are a tourist, go to Marrakech and come back. You are ordinary.

If you are a voyager, you need to see for your eyes this blue town of Chefchaouen. You are extra ordinary then. Situated some 6 hours drive from Marrakech up north, this town was painted in only blue and white in

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1930s by the Jewish immigrants. It is a labyrinth of mysterious blue where you will see the residents of the town in their local costumes going about with life as usual.

colours, sounds, chaos. You have to see for yourself the spice markets, the leather handicrafts, the colourful babouches, ceramics and traditional Berber jewellery here.

Take a day trip near Marrakech: Visit the Kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou The harder a place is to get to, the moremesmerising it is. The more remote a place is to get to, the more rewarding that experience is. Although most would go to Essaouira or Agadir as a day trio from Marrakech, we suggest you head south-east towards Ourzazate to see the Kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou. You need to visit for yourself to find out why so many international movies were shot including the French version of Cleopatra, Bertolucci’s Sheltering Sky, Scorsese’s Kundun, Gillies Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Oliver Stone’s Alexander The Great, Penelope Cruz’s Sahara etc.

Enjoying the sunset while sipping mint tea overlooking the Jemaa al Fena There are several restaurants overlooking the Jemaa al Fena and very naturally seats get filled up especially before sunset. You can decide to go to the terrace of Café de France to book yourself a good spot from where you can not only see hustle and bustle of the Jemaa al Fena below you but you will be witnessing the astonishing sunset behind the Koutoubia Mosque. The minaret will stand tall while the sun will kiss goodbye to another day.

Do Souk hopping while getting lost and found in the Medina of Marrakech With an open mind but firmly guarded pockets, you have to make a plan one day to get completely lost in the endless maze of the old Medina at Marrakech. The UNESCO heritage site is an amalgamation of

Visit mosques and madrasahs It should be taken for granted that in order to explore the spiritual aspect and the Islamic art of Morocco, you have to spend some quiet time to reflect on the Universe and all its creation. No place will give you that much serenity other than a mosque.

While they are aplenty all around this country, the one we certainly recommend would be the Grand Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca.

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Photos: Courtesy

Team Onetimefashionista visited the Royal Kingdom of Morocco in December 2014 and what an experience that was!

Tanusree Ghosh and Shehzaad Shams The grandeur, the architecture, the might will overwhelm you once you stand outside its door and when you step inside it will transform you to a different zone. This is the largest mosque in all of Morocco, in Africa and the 7th largest mosque in the whole world. Similarly the Ben Youssef Madrasah is an architectural splendour to marvel at, located inside the Medina of Marrakech.

Have an afternoon drink in a Riad Even if you are not staying in one yourself, it is imperative that to explore the stay in a typical Riad, you have to grab a mint tea in one of the many Riads. In Marrakech, there are Riads right in the heart of the Medina and outside it. The unique ambience, the gentle sound of the fountains, the calmness is really worth an experience to have over some aromatic fresh mint tea.

Dine under Berber tent and enjoy breathe-taking performance at Chez Ali A must have experience towards the end of your travel in Morocco. This place is a fantasy kingdom just 10 minute drive from Marrakech towards the route to Casablanca. Traditionally dressed characters, colourful Berber tents and the amazing desert tunes in the background convert the whole evening atmosphere into magic land.

Especially the food – the size of the dish, the amount of food they will serve you – may bring water to your eyes after watering your mouth! The open air performance that follows dinner is equally stunning with horsemen, fireworks and belly dancers.n

Eat Moroccan street food, traditional dishes Yes it is the land of couscous and you will have to try out various couscous dishes maybe in every other meal you will be having here. You must also try Tagine and Moroccan Kebab. It is mandatory tip to have orange juices when you are at Jemaa al Fena square.

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8 Post-Riposte | Movies

Does Zero Degree have a negative impact on our nation’s younger generation?

Yes It is a sad depiction of women Tausif Sanzum From the moment the movie opened in theatres, it has received mixed reviews. A section of the society praised the thriller for being the first of its kind in Bangladesh while others strictly criticised the vulgarity on screen. If you do not agree with the latter group, catch the movie at the nearest theatre and you can see for yourself what negative impact it has on movie-goers, a majority comprising of young people.

At the beginning, we see an upper middle class family consisting of a father, mother and a child. The mother ends up having an affair in Singapore and leaves her family.

This causes the husband, played

by Mahfuz, to hate on all women, particularly namesakes of his wife Nira. He ends up murdering a woman who he randomly picks up from Facebook based on her name (Nira).

Her fault being, she neglects her son and asks him to leave the room while she was with Mahfuz. This sets the direction in which women characters will be shown throughout the movie – sexually starved, helpless, homebreaker, murderer and indecisive.

Sitting at the heart of the movie is

the character of Saniya played by Joya Ahsan. However, the story line of her character is such that it hardly evokes the emotion it was meant to. She is repeatedly raped, gang-raped, and the camera focuses on her assets on several occasions.

True, that there are instances where women face these kinds of terrifying situations, but when you sexualise it on screen the issue loses it depth. As evident from the cheers among the audience, the scenes evoked nothing but guilty pleasure.

The director shows stark contrasts between Saniya and Nira. As Saniya is raped and is a victim of fate, she is shown as the “good girl” who deserves all the sympathy despite murdering her rapists brutally. On the contrary, as Nira ruins her marriage while pursuing a new affair, she is shown as the vamp who, by the end of the movie is shown to regret the choices she has made.

Why is it important to create complete black and white characters?

The makers stick to the age old formula of heroine and vamp – a rigid role which is a big blockade in the path of modern feminism.

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NO

It is a slice of reality Rasel Ahmed A film is a film – a piece of life that is recreated on reels, not in reality. It could spark a debate but it shouldn’t spark idiocy.

We have to admit, Zero Degree is bold. We live in constant denial that boldness in any form other than chauvinistic patriotism, exists. Zero Degree shows sex, rape, molestation and drugs, all of which, unfortunately, are very much a part of the world around us. We need to change the holistic concept of purity that is overwhelming our sense of reality. If we don’t see them on screen that doesn’t necessarily mean they never happen out of the screen.

Zero Degree shows strong violence – from beginning to end there is bloodshed, brutality and multiple assaults depicted on screen. How do

you expect a psycho thriller to design violence to fit into your taste?

The director was pretty clear on portraying all the major characters in the light of the ordeals they undergo.

The violence was inevitable at times to create the intensity of the moment. One should be capable enough to analyse and reject such violence in their lives.

Zero Degree shows desire. Though the film shed a negative light on desire as the director had to focus on betrayal, the good thing is it at least came out of the closet.

The film shows hatred, but doesn’t endorse it! At the end of the film we see a really sadden extremity that is not meant to be replicated. Hatred and bigotry can never be the solution – that should be the only conclusion we can draw from Zero Degree. n

Ekushey Boi Mela | Photo story

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A world of books Photos by Mehedi Hasan and Rajib Dhar As this year’s annual Ekushey Boi Mela comes to an end, we bring to you a photo story featuring precious moments from the fair grounds, as a tribute to the muchawaited event that is visited by millions of patriotic Bangalis nationwide.

Turn for more photographs

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10 PHoto story | Ekushey Boi Mela

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12 Feature | Cultural school

Batighar A school that promises much more than academics Farhana Urmee

W

hat if we could give our children unlimited time to play? What if we could do something get rid of the cage of hard rules the burden of the overweight school bag?

Today’s children growing up in the city, do not have the luxury of space to run around in. Playing with video games or doodling on smart phones have made their existence virtual and have taken them far away from the pleasures of real life.

Think about a school that does not have any uniform and more interestingly it does not have any books. A school without books? This is a cultural school where your kids can go twice or thrice a week to learn extracurricular activities. One may argue that this kind of school can simply add extra pressure on children who are already burdened with vast syllabus, exams and tuitions. On the contrary, however, it is a school where children will find space to learn things that boost their extracurricular

activities, and will open a window to know about life, their country and the world. Welcome to Batighar – a cultural school for children.

Batighar

Children aged between 3-14 are taught here on a total of six subjects which include music, dancing, fine arts and crafts, recitation and acting, debating, speech and general knowledge, world history and history of Bangladesh, the liberation war, culture and heritage of Bangladesh, science and environment, contemporary world affairs and many more.

For the children aged between 3-4 the course is called Prostuti. After Prostuti children are divided into two groups according to their age for an 18-month long course. Batighar has its own curriculum, but it also tries to encompass more and more subject matter in teaching the students.

Batighar’s motto is not to teach their students literally, but rather holding the children’s hands and be with

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them while they learn from culture, heritage, nature and surroundings.

Classes are held every Friday and Saturday afternoon. There is another extra class of learning outside of school. This may consist of anything from pottery classes at Dhanmondi Lake or learning about other the history and culture of other countries through visiting museums or historical place or just a tour to the Agricultural University to learn about trees and nature.

In winter the classes start at 3:30-6:30pm and in summer the time schedule is from 4pm-6:30pm.

There is a 20 minutes Tiffin break in between the classes.

Background

The school started with absolute personal financing from the owners.

Mehedi Hasan Shoyeb, one of the initiators shares his vision about the school: “While the time is very unstable in terms of social changes, politics, cultural invasion, it is really

hard for our children to decide what to pick and remember for lifetime in this information dense age. We thought, if we could start an institute where we can at least try to give our children a different environment other than being utterly commercial and competitive that could be a thing we could look forward to be fruitful in future.”

Tamanna Shetu, the director of the school shares her thoughts: “I started to think about founding such a school out of sheer frustration that I feel living in this city. I see a stark difference in the childhood of my children and the one that I had. We had boundless access to run, play, swim and sing. But I can hardly provide my children such luxury of space and of course, of mind to be themselves – to be children.” Batighar, is an endeavour in helping today’s children by giving them a better environment to learn their culture and heritage. This learning is not just some A-B-C-D or even taking

13

Photos: Courtesy

also need a break from regular school and routine bound life.”

Vision

Batighar was absolutely an initiative taken by a couple who were worried about their own children. And later their anxiety about the future of their kids found a common ground when they met other anxious parents and ended up startign an entire cultural school, which will be complimentary to regular education. “Our motto to provide the children with the openness of our nature and society is a bit hindered when they are meeting in a class room located in an apartment building. We hope to move our school to a more open place with wide premises in near future,” says Tamanna, “And about the future that we dream for Batighar is that this school will have branches in every district in the country.” Batighar, is not an institute that is confined to us only, it has become the possession of all the students and guardians who have come here,” thinks Tamanna, “this light house could be everyone’s house.”

As the light house emits light to help the ships to navigate in sea, Batighar, the cultural school wants to be that bright light, which can give the new generation a light of guidance so that children do not get lost in the ocean of concrete jungle, virtual reality or the imposed structured education system. n elaborated dancing or singing classes in specified institutes, rather this is learning from life, learning from the very childhood desire of exploring things.

It has been almost a year that the school started. The session starts according to Bengali year- in Boishakh. The school started with a total of six students and now the number of student is 32. After its inception a number of renowned personalities areconsulting for the

betterment of the school. Painter Hashem Khan, educationist Shymoli Nasreen Chowdhury, poet Ashim Shaha, singer Chandana Majumder and Kiran Chandra Roy and other cultural personalities, journalist, debater and organizer have given their opinion and expert comment on child education for Batighar.

Nigar Sultana who is a banker and a mother of a four year old girl Shemonti, says how she almost cried when she heard her little one

singing “Moder gorbo moder asha, Amori Bangla Bhasha,” the very old and popular patriotic song about our language. “Shemonti has not yet learned to speak properly, but as she sang the song on international Mother Language Day, it brought tears to my eyes,” says Nigar. “I don’t need my child to be the best dancer in the country or become a popular singer, I am happy that she is learning every bit of it in a very cultural environment and of course, with other kids who

Contact:

Batighar Shishuder Shangkritik Bidyaloy 5/7, Block E, Lalmatia, Dhaka Tel: 01624804048, 0176845873 Admission fee: Tk1500 Admission form: Tk200 Monthly fee: Tk1500

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5

14

Feature | Matir Mela

The Earth Factor

Jatra’s sustainability fair features environment friendly cosmetics and food items that are age-old recipes of success Weekend Tribune Desk

O

Photos: Courtesy

ur lives have become too fast paced to keep track of anything and the things we use are more chemically and technologically advanced than we’ve ever imagined it to be. There was once a time when all of this would have seemed surreal and alien-like to us. Back in the day, not too long ago when we wanted to have a quite day in and treat ourselves to some self-pampering we’d do it ourselves and in our own way with homemade recipes. Everyone at home would sit around together and help with the ingredients while sharing a laugh.

Now of course, you rely on readymade packaged goods that you buy off the shelves. You look for the best brands and you buy the most expensive one that there is. Either that or you go to the best spa in town and spend a good chunk of your hard earned money after hours of rest and recuperation. It’s not your fault either – our lives have forced us to become so extremely busy that we barely have enough time for ourselves that we hardly ever think about using some

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5

of our time at home to utilise the resources around for personal use.

Old is gold remedies

When our parents were in their teens and if they ever had a problem with dandruff, their parents would sit them down and instead of going out and getting a bottle anti-dandruff shampoo, they would just use a mixture of freshly squeezed lime juice, mustard oil and a little bit of sugar for a few days to do the trick.

As far as face packs are concerned instead of buying a face pack in the past you’d be making your own face pack like the age-old brilliantly effective one with carrot paste with a little bit of honey to rejuvenate your face and leave you feeling refreshed.

All of this does not only make you feel like a diva but will also make you feel like you’re contributing to the environment by not spending as much as you used to on chemically manufactured products.

Jatra’s Matir Mela – a sustainability fair

Mother nature will sure be proud of you and pat you on the back much

like our friends at Jatra who organised an event called “Matir Mela” strictly focusing on homemade products.

The event introduced Saba Homaira Ahmad and her wide range of homemade organic products such as face wash, shampoo, neem-miswak toothpaste, beeswax candles, scrubs, recycled mason jars, solid lotion and a lot more. There was also a booklet of recipes and product information on sale by Saba at the event.

The fair included a puppet show organised by “Obbhoyaronno,” an animal welfare project along with a workshop on DIY cosmetics. There were also children present from “The Tech School” who presented their lessons on how computer science and robotics could be used for sustainable energy use.

Since the event was held at Jatra it couldn’t have ended without music, Arnob, Anusheh and friends tantalised the remaining of the night with their soulful voices.

.

DU Women’s Cricket | Sports

15

off the boundary Achieving gender equality through cricket Naveed Ferdous

B

angladesh is a complete cricket crazy nation. We – the Bengali people simply love cricket irrespective of our age, class, race, religion, sex, gender etc. The worldwide popularity of cricket has grown so high that women’s cricket has also emerged over the recent years, and Bangladesh is not absent from the scene. We have the Bangladesh Women Cricket team who are doing quite well in the world arena.

We have the Bangladesh Men’s Cricket team and the Bangladesh Women Cricket team. But are men and women getting equal opportunities in the world of cricket?

This question arose in a recent seminar, which dealt with women’s empowerment and equality in participation of women in every sphere, organised by the Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Dhaka.

During the seminar, the speakers said that having a national cricket team for women does not imply that women and men are getting equal opportunities in terms of playing cricket. There is almost no scope, encouragement and opportunities for

women to play cricket in comparison to men.

A simple example will be enough to prove it. If we look back in the history of our cricket, we will find many cricketers actually had their roots in their school, college or university cricket teams. This proves that cricket in the educational institutions played a major role in discovering the best cricketers of the nation and also that participation in cricket was encouraged by the educational institutions. But when we take a look at the scenario of participation of women in cricket in the educational institution, we will see that no such opportunities exist for women. How do we expect the society to offer equal opportunities when the educational institutions are not encouraging it?

To change the scene, the Women and Gender Studies department along with Dhaka University Cricket Committee officially launched Women’s Cricket in Dhaka University in December 2014. This is the first time in the country’s history that a women’s cricket has been initiated in a formal educational institution. Sayed Saikh Imtiaz,

Associate Professor, Women and Gender Studies Department played a key role here. Last year, he was appointed as a Member of the Dhaka University Cricket Committee, who then established the voice of his department in the committee and only then this matter was taken under serious consideration. Shubhroto Kumar, the chairperson of the Committee, and his endless efforts made it possible to launch women’s cricket in Dhaka University.

According to Imtiaz, bringing girls to the cricket ground will not only ensure their physical fitness and mental development but also play a key role in empowering women.

This will be a statement which will highlight that men and women are equal and therefore women should avail equal opportunities as men.

Dhaka University has been the trend setter among the educational institutions in Bangladesh. With Dhaka University starting women’s cricket he believes that it will surely motivate other educational institutions to start and promote women’s sports. The first step of Women’s Cricket at Dhaka University is the inter hall cricket tournament.

Soon it will start inter department cricket tournament. He believes that within a very short span we will have an inter university women’s cricket tournament.

This initiative has a broad horizon.

Starting cricket in the educational institutions will help to extract the best talents. We will get the best of the players for our national Women’s team. Once the educational institutions start this practice, all the other social institutions will follow and will start to appreciate it too. Girls, like boys will have equal opportunities to play cricket at every level of the society. This is not only about the opportunity of playing cricket but also is about overcoming a gender-related hurdle for women.

This is about showing the world what women are capable of and also establishing the fact that they can do the things that men do. This is about eradicating gender stereotyped ideas.

Starting Women’s Cricket at educational institutions will not change the situation of women instantly. But without any doubt, it will turn out to be a huge contribution in achieving women’s empowerment and equality.

.

Photo: Courtesy

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5

16

TOUGH LOVE | DINA SOBHAN

cat wars and muggers

Got a problem?

Write to Dina at

weekend@dhakatribune. com

Q

Dear Dina, I am a 22-year-old girl who lives with her parents. We have a pet cat that is the darling of the house, and we all dote on her. Recently, one of my cousins from the village moved in with us because he got a job in Dhaka, and my parents offered to accommodate him. And then things turned sour. He immediately expressed that he hates cats! I’ve done my best to keep my cat out of his way, and lock the poor thing in my room when I am away at work. In any case, she seems to be terrified of him, which makes me suspect that he must have lashed out at her at some point. I’ve tried talking to my parents about it, but they’re too polite to say anything to him. I am so frustrated and angry! How do I get him out of the house?

A

Dear Feline Fanatic, While some might find it strange to give pets priority over people, I’m with you 100% on this one. Let’s face it, the cat was there first, and it sounds a lot more pleasant than your odious cousin, frankly. I think he must have kicked the cat when you weren’t looking, and you just can’t take that sort of thing lying down.

You need to wage a full-on war to get this guy gone pronto. First, stop locking your baby in the bedroom.

She has every right to roam free in her own house. Make sure you have every member of the household on the lookout for suspicious behavior on the part of this cousin; we can’t have any further acts of violence enacted on your furry friend. Secondly, you need to train the cat in some form of combat, so she can be on the offensive at all times. Maybe buy her a scratching post with his photograph on it, or move her litter box closer to his bedroom. Lastly, he must be made to understand that his presence in the house is not appreciated. Drop not-sosubtle hints about apartment rentals across town while simultaneously complaining about how crowded the house is getting and how suffocated you feel, etc. Just fight obnoxious with obnoxious, but do it better.

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5

Q

Dear Dina, I’ve been mugged twice already in the last two years, and it happened again for the third time last week. I feel my paranoia has reached a whole new level. I’m terrified of going out now, even during the day; I’ve already missed almost a week of work. But I no longer even feel safe at home, especially since I live on my own. I’m thinking of moving in with my parents but they live in another city and that would mean having to leave my job completely.

I’m in desperate need of help, but I don’t know who to reach out to.

A

Well, my immediate advice to you is: move!

You don’t need to quit your job and move to another city, but you definitely need to get the heck out of whatever ghetto area you live in. Who wouldn’t be paranoid? You’d be crazy to feel safe there. I bet the people who mugged you don’t even want to live there out of fear for their lives.

Cartoon: Priyo/Dhaka Tribune

Instead of barricading yourself into the death trap you call home, I would start scouring the papers and telling everyone you know that you need a new place to live. In the interim, go live with family or friends. Hell, live in a motel if you need to, just don’t stay in your own house. And if money is a problem, look for someone to share with you. It’s a far better option than slinking home to your parents with your tail between your legs, isn’t it?

.

Dina Sobhan is a freelance writer, and cautions readers not to take her ‘advice’ here too seriously!

last days | Boi Mela Beat

17

Bidding farewell to the Boi Mela The Ekushey Boi Mela comes to an end. With bigger premises and extra facilities from previous years, this year’s event was the place to be throughout this month of February Farhana Urmee

In Focus: Agun O Chhaya

Agun O Chhaya is a novel by Rayhan Rhyne published by Prothoma Prokashan. The book has been awarded “Borshoshera Boi 1420,” (best book of the year). It tells the story of the lives based on the politics of sex. The context of the novel is depicted in a way where private life is dominated by politics of sex and societal power lies in arms and weapons. In such a context the very familiar characters from our day to day life struggle to survive and cope with odds. The narrator Javed Kaisar tells the story sitting in a train and he has a collage of moments captured by his camera with him.

A new incident is changing the old character that we know and thus every character has a shadow with it. These shadows become more mysterious in the world of cyber sex, and nobody know where all of us are destined to go.

Who’s In?

Kinkor Ehsan is a new writer who has had two of his books published at this year’s Boi Mela.

His novel Rongila Kitab and collection of stories Swarnobhumi are both published by Jagriti Prokashoni.

He has worked in newspapers and is currently working in the advertisement industry. He begin writing by contributing columns in newspapers.

His inspiration is the peace of mind that he finds while writing. And reaching out to the readers is always important to him. His stories are regularly published in newspapers

throughout the year.

“When writers write, they have some thoughts behind it, and later when readers read it they may not necessarily perceive the same meaning that the writer wanted to share.

This difference of understanding triggers debate, but to me it is truly important that the readers are finally thinking about something that I have written,” says Ehsan.

Both of his book is available at the publisher’s stall at the Boi Mela for Tk120.

Boimela Blow by Blow This Boi Mela was bigger not only in terms of space but also in the total number of books published too. Till the 24th day of the fair the total number of books published were 3,135 whereas the total

number of books published on the 28th day of the fair was 2,959.

The total number of stories

published is 499, novels 554,

essay 163, poetry 737, research

85, rhymes 117, books on children 81, autobiography 79, books on liberation war 49, play 26, science and science fiction 92, travel 47, comedy 17, religion 28 and many more.

Hot on the shelves

1. Octopuser Chokh by Muhammad Zafar Iqbal 2. Porathoporotar Orthoniti by Akbar Ali Khan 3. Tajuddin Ahmad Neta O Pita by Sharmin Ahmad 4. Shorom by Taslima Nasreen 5. Bikkhobher Dingulite Prem by Anisul Haque

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5

18 stay in

Book Review: Education and Literature in the Colonial Period by Muheebul Aziz

ACROSS 1 6 7 8

Talk nonsense about pancake (6) Play with sitar for upward advancement (5) First of stops in North Africa is a mountain (5) Marry everyone in a secure area (6)

states. At 104 pages this is not by any means a hefty book. But Aziz managed to put enough historical data into it and made it a very informative read.

The first essay (Education in the Colonial Bengal) lays out the historical background of the advent of British education system in India.

The author used primary sources extensively, which makes the essays very authoritative. In the first essay Aziz provides a brief account of pre-colonial education traditions and practices. The author dug into old publications and provided some fascinating pictures of the past.

Before the British came, children used to go to school to learn the Bengali language, reading, writing, and mathematics. They were also taught about cultivation, trade, and letter-writing.

Aziz cites a survey done in 1870, result of which showed the percentage of students from different social classes attending government education institutions.

The second essay in the book titled, “The origin of Anglo-Indian literature and Poet Ramkinu Dutt,” details the earliest English language writers of Bengali origin. In the second part of the essay the author provides biographical information on poet Ramkinu Dutt. The reason for singling out this poet is that Ramkinu Dutt was one of the first Bengali personS to write poetry in the English language but he is absent from nearly all historical records and

was never credited as one of the earliest Anglo-Indian writers.

Ramkinu Dutt had a bitter sweet relationship with the British authority, as Aziz documents in detail. He was arrested for obstructing land survey in Chittagong, where he was a native. However, he wrote a number of poems praising British members of government and the Queen. Aziz quoted a few verses by Dutt.

In “Reverend Krishnamohon Bondopaddhay and his journalism” the author looks into the life and work of one of the most prominent 19th century Bengali thinkers. Aziz calls Reverend Krishnamohon Bondopaddhay an “anti establishment intellectual.”

“The first Bengali Education Periodical” details the birth of the first ever Bengali periodical on education. The author quotes an article by Krishnodas Bondopaddhay that appeared in one of its issues.

The article provides instruction on how to interact with an English person. Read without the historical context this will probably fall within the modern genre of black comedy.

The author carefully investigated primary sources and literature for writing these essays. This is a beautifully written educational book that anyone can read. A glaring flaw in the publication is that the book does not contain any biographical information on the author. The book was first published in 2007 by the Oitijjhya Publication in Dhaka (ISBN – 984-776-504-9). n

2 3 4 5

Weapons at disposal of football team (7) Delicate tool holds piece of cloth (7) Wager I arranged for insect (6) Puzzle of dance understood (6)

Solved it? Email answers to weekend@dhakatribune. com and win one free month of the Dhaka Tribune.

Last week’s solutions

W

Clues

DOWN

Saqib Sarkar

hen we talk about our education system we compare it to the “western” system of education. We tend to forget that our education system is a “western” system introduced to this subcontinent by the good old British Empire.

What were the first “English medium” schools like? Why the British spend so much effort to educate us? What is the history of colonial education? These are some of the questions Muheebul Aziz answers in his book Education and Literature in the Colonial Period.

The book is put together as a collection of 6 essays. Aziz explores the history and background of education and literature in colonial India, which currently exists, of course, as three independent nation

Mini cryptics

ACROSS 1 Churchman uses vehicle after six (5) 5 Employ you and I and initially, everyone (3) 6 President sees nine in French refusal (5) 8 Parasites after a children’s literary heroine (5) 10 Left, for example, limb (3) 11 Correct electricity and repair (5) DOWN 1 Roman house holds an orchid pod (7) 2 A hundred bovine, steer on the water (3) 3 Manage to flee (3) 4 Ginger communist leader (7) 7 Bird takes lid off soup vessel (3) 8 Silver plate’s last years (3) 9 99 Euro for frozen dessert (3)

Sudoku

Use the numbers 1-9 to complete each of the 3x3 square grids such that each horizontal and vertical line also contains all of the digits from 1-9

Last week’s sudoku solutions

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5

Go out

19

Weekly Planner Feb 27 Music | 25th Recitation Workshop 2015, When 3-5pm Where TSC, University of Dhaka

The four months long workshop is titled “Standard pronunciation, verbal excellence, recitation and news presentation,” and will have Professor Niranjan Adhikari, Dr. Shoumitra Shekhar, Mir Barkat,Golam Sarwar, Shimul Mustafa, Rejina Wali Leena, Shahadat Hossain Nipu, Majumdar Jewel, Mrinmoy Mijan, Masud Ahmed, Morshed Alam, Kamrul Islam Jewel, Manjur Hossain and others among the esteemed list of

trainers. Application forms can be collected in front of DUCSU cafeteria on Fridays between 10am to 12:30pm. To apply online visit http:// abrittiacademy.org/workshop-form.

The admission fee is Tk600.

For more information, contact: 01911594051, 01552-329238.

Feb 27- Mar 4 Theatre | Theatre Festival 2015 When 9am onwards Where Selim Al Deen Muktomancha, Jahangirnagar University

Like every other year Jahangirnagar University theatre is a arranging theatre festival and this year will be their 35th instalment.

Feb 27

Workshop | Digital Film Making Workshop 2015 When 3-8pm Where Moviyana Film Society, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy

Moviyana Film Society and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy is arranging a digital film-making workshop with a moto of ‘’from zero to infinity, it’s all about movies.’’ The workshop, which will span four months, with two sessions per week (Friday- 10am-8pm, Saturday3-8pm), is categorised in to three different stages: movie appreciation, movie making training, and movie making Every session will screen movies relating to the context.

Renowned film personalities will be conducting sessions such as Syed Salahuddin Jaki, Liakat Ali Lucky, Syedul Anam Tutul, Dr. Salimullah Khan, Maksudul Bari, sound engineer Ratan Pal, Producer Samir Khan, Professor Sabrina Sultana Chowdhuri, Sabyasachi Hazra, music director Tanvir Alam Shojib and many more.

Belayat Hossain Mamun will be planning and coordinating the workshop.

Participation fee for the workshop is Tk1,500.

For more information contact: 01675642777, 01971101106, 01815110282

Feb 28

Where Greenland Migration Limited, House No- 34, Road No-100,Gulshan-2

Theatre | 25th show of MACBETH

When 7pm onwards Where National Theatre, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Segunbagicha, Ramna Macbeth, a popular tragedy from William Shakespeare will be featured at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

The production is translated by Syed Shamsul Haq, produced by Padatik Nattya Sangsad and will be directed

by Sudip Chakroborthy.

Greenland Migration Limited is arranging a free information session on various Canada Immigration opportunitie.

Information regarding Express Entry, PNPs and other options will be discussed.

For reservations, please send your CV to seminardhk@ greenlandmigration.com, and call 01847090009 for assistance.

Feb 28 Immigration | Free information session on Canada Immigration

Send your events to weekend@dhakatribune.com

When 3pm onwards

Feb 28-Mar 6

Environment | Environment Week 2015 When 3pm onwards Where Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET)

“Environment Watch: BUET” is celebrating Environment Week 2015.

The event schedule includes: Day 1 – Feb 28 Inauguration of “Environment Week” Magazine publication Setting up trash cans throughout the campus Tree plantation Day 2 – Mar 1 Seminar on environment Photography exhibition

Day 3 Mar 2 Poster presentation Competition on ideas for improvement the BUET campus environment Day 4 – Mar 3 Performance by Boyati Day 5 – Mar 4 Horticulture fair Closing ceremony Day 6 – Mar 6 Nature Olympiad (inter-college & inter-university) Prize giving ceremony

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5

20 Event | Project Dhee

Connecting the dots through knowledge Spreading awareness on gender issues Tausif Sanzum

“W

here the mind is without fear, and the head is held high, where knowledge is free, where the world has been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls” this extract from the widely popular poem of Rabindranath Tagore sums up the journey Project Dhee has undertaken.

Whenever an LGBT related issue pops up, it ends up garnering considerable amount of publicity. However, most of the reports and conversations tend to ignore the core idea and focuses mostly on the “LGBT” factor.

One such project which has caught a significant amount of attention since its launch on Facebook on February, followed by an inauguration ceremony at EMK Center on Feb 19, is Project Dhee.

The event saw the likes of Robert Gibson, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, eminent filmmaker Noman Robin and researcher Shuchi Karim who all came in support of the project.

Rasel Ahmed, the Project Manager of Project Dhee says: “It was quite a challenge for us to come up with a name for the project which does full justice to what it stands for. ‘Dhee’ stands for intellect, wisdom, knowledge, comprehension.”

Tanvir Alim, the Executive Director of BoB (Boys of Bangladesh), the organisation

which is spearheading the project, pointed out that through this attempt of theirs they want to impart knowledge on alternative sexuality, a topic which is still, to a large extent, spoken in hushed tones.

What is Project Dhee?

“The project will be undertaken over a period of 14 months. During this period we want to present a five years strategy plan regarding the LGBT movement in Bangladesh. We aim to do it through initiating countrywide awareness campaigns, community mobilization and spreading more fact based information on sexual orientation and gender identity,” says Rasel.

Though Bangladesh has a long way to go when it comes to acknowledging LGBT rights, a pro-LGBT movement has been collecting steam in the last couple of years in Dhaka.

Instead of just limiting to Dhaka, project Dhee wants to spread awareness among both the LGBT community members as well as the nonLGBT population across the

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5

seven districts of the country.

They do not want to term the project as an advocacy channel. Instead of drawing conclusions, Tanvir Alim explains: “We want to create a platform where people can come forward and debate about sexuality.”

Three components of Dhee The project consists of three major components of which External Advocacy is the most interesting. Through this component, Dhee wants to reach out to allies from different walks of life and are not essentially part of the LGBT community. These allies will be chosen through fifteen country wide events.

“We plan to have at least 50 allies at the end of each event who will include journalists, NGO workers, students, artists, etc, and we want to provide them with a platform where they can understand the complexities of sexuality, gender identity, etc. We would like to refer yo them as ‘priority change-makers.’

They will be provided with campaign materials designed by our team of content developers who have broken down the complex discourse in such a manner that it has become much easier for people out the community to understand. These ‘priority change-makers’ will be given the tasks of distributing these materials and spread what knowledge they have received during the workshops with ten people from their personal group. In this way by the end of the project we want to reach 7500 people who are outside the community,’ claims Rasel Ahmed.

There is a lack of information relating to LGBT issues even among members of the community, particularly those living in small towns.

Dhee wants to make a little change in this direction. They want to find 21 potential LGBT activists, three from each district. These potential “dhees” will undergo a two days long training process.

Post this, they will hold focus

group discussions among LGBT members of their community in their respective home towns and pass on what they have gathered during the training session. Finally, Dhee will provide them with essential support to hold seven programs, one in each of their districts.

The final component consists of Dhee coming up with a strategy and action plan after gathering country wide information on what could be the possible direction the LGBT community wants to take over the next five years.

The risk factor Tanvir Alim says: “There is also the danger of an LGBT project backfiring particularly because of the backlashes from the conservative members of the society.

However, we are willing to take the risk for the sake of the greater good. Also we are planning to contact NGOs and support groups in each of the districts and work in close proximity with them while organising events which will considerably mitigate the risk factors. Finally, when we are going to approach noncommunity members to be ‘priority change makers,’ we will try to bring together a bunch of rational and liberal group who are ready to listen to, if not accept the existence of an alternative sexuality.”

On LGBT being labeled as a foreign concept Rasel Ahmed admits that while it is true that they are working with materials which might not be local, the discourse on alternative sexuality is almost non-existent in Bangladesh.

As such, using materials from the West or even from nearby countries like India is the best alternative solution.

However, they promise to modify these to suit local taste before imparting them.

Alim concludes: “Just because something is foreign, it does not mean that it is negative.

We should always leave the slate blank to incorporate knowledge.” n

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