Ah finally some good news for Bangladeshis….Tahmima Alam has won the regional Commonwealth best book prize ( Europe and South Asia) with her book “A Golden Age.” It is on my ever expanding reading list for this year… Well done her and I wonder what she will do with the 1000 smackeroos?
It is said that ex-PM Hasina’s stomach has become a pharmacy in the last three months….perhaps that is why 5 members of the 7 panel team of doctors looking after her have been replaced? The CTG says they were partisan doctors ( …as well as being relatives of various Awami Leaguers). We have a partisan judiciary ( or has that really ended??) - so why not partisan doctors? The hosptial is keeping schtum ( they have most to gain after all if they treat her…) with John Gomes, the General Manager of the hospital, declaring he knows nothing. Would someone please tell the man that as General Manager its his damn business to know? The “dodgy 5″ believed that she was in danger of going deaf among other things. There might be some truth in that. Instead of pumping her with medication, has anyone tried telling Hasina to stop shouting? It might do her hearing and her party a lot of good?
And then we have this editorial. It is disheartening news that after announcing a radical set of measures concerning women’s property rights, the government climbed down after pressure from the great guardians of koranic truth. So what the hell is this editorial doing painting a rosy picture and ignoring the vociferous objections to the proposed law? What have I missed?
4 Responses for "Prizes, human pharmacies and daft editorials."
‘Tahmima Anam’ is the daughter of Mahfuz Anam, whose editorial you questioned. The Daily Star has been sort of “in da house” spokesman for the government since its Fahim Munaim took the charge of Chief advisor’s press secretary.
While the press in the country is still gagged tightly we get this Daily Star editorial titled “17 years of journalism without fear or favour”. What a hypocrisy!
thanks for pointing this out.
i’m curious as to what might happen to demands to an end to discrimination against women with regards to nationality..
that editorial about bangladesh’s women is such a load of tosh - we don’t even have equal rights to citizenship for goodness sakes’ ! despite Bangladesh being a signatory to CEDAW (committee for elimination of discrimination of women) and having a constitution that claims there should be no discrimination. And it is a simple maatter to change the wording of the law that only passes nationality through the male line. But no! we can’t have that yet we bangladeshi women are somehow ‘ahead of women in india’. there are problems women in india have, there are problems women in bangladesh have, that editorial is so much rubbish..it’s ridiculous, it makes it seem as if there isn’t any work to be done. sorry just had to rant.
Sonia, The most benign interpretation of that editorial is that its meant to be a softly, softly response to the recent backtracking. Its like saying…”oh we are doing so well, it would be a shame to stop now. ” That kind of crap won’t wash with the fundies. It might with the fickle middle-class movers and shakers who like favourable comparisons with India and who are uninterested in principles or ideology.
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