Foreign Policy Blogs

Bangladesh

Losing a Mother in Bangladesh Implies 25% Probability of Reaching 10 Years of Age

Using data from population surveys from 1982 to 2005, an  international group of researchers estimated that in Bangladesh, losing a mother implies that a child has about a 25% chance of reaching 10 years of age. The numbers speak for themselves.  Those who did not lose their mothers had an 89% chance of reaching the […]

read more

Jamaat Backs BNP Nationwide Anti-government Program

Jamaat-e-Islami has hitched up with the BNP again and has endorsed the much bandied program of strikes and protests against the sitting government. Jamaat has agreed to join the June 9th sit-in and has promised full-throated support of the planned late June  “peoples” strike.  Though the ostensible reason that a Jamaat spokesperson offered was “to […]

read more

Bangladesh, Following Pakistan, Unblocks Facebook

The government of Bangladesh has decided to unblock Facebook access.   Even though the government has been more militantly aggressive with its stance on critical media projects and outlets, this outcome was inevitable.  Facebook has no interest in witnessing more Muslim majority countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan block access to tens of millions of users–really, […]

read more

Bangladesh Spends Only Half the Funds Allocated for Budget in 9 Months

The Daily Star reports that a little more than half the funds allocated for the annual budget has been spent in the nine months of the current fiscal year. The reason?  The government had lower subsidy and interest payments this fiscal year than was projected. The Daily Star fails to report the reason why this […]

read more

Bangladesh Mourns 117 Dead in Fiery Blaze in Dhaka's Old Town

Bangladeshis observed a day of national mourning on Saturday to remember the 117 people who died in Thursday’s blaze in Dhaka’s old town. With the national flag flying at half mast, Bangladeshis of all stripes and beliefs joined in prayer and commemoration, unified in quiet and mannered grief. Now is the time for searching and […]

read more

Deadly Fire and Resulting 87 Deaths and Counting: A Signal of Things to Come

The Daily Star reports the following grim news: At least 87 people, mostly women and children, were burned alive and scores more wounded in a blaze in the densely-populated Old Dhaka last night. The death toll may rise sharply, as rescuers early today were pulling out bodies from eight houses and 20 shops that had […]

read more

BNP Using Amar Desh Shut Down to Full Advantage

The BNP is using the government shut down of the daily newspaper Amar Desh to good affect.  Using a calculated show of protest against recent government actions, the BNP delegation joined a budgeting session only to walk out to signal disfavor of the government’s actions against the newspaper. Amar Desh often joins with the BNP […]

read more

The Argument for Expanding Free Public Education in Bangladesh

The government of Bangladesh recently announced that along with making secondary and tertiary education free for students in public institutions, it will put together a trust to provide scholarship stipends for high achieving students. This move, directed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ensures Bangladesh’s future as an innovating economy and stabilizes its export market for in-demand labor […]

read more

Bangladesh Government Asserts Pressure Against Media Outlets and Content

The government of Bangladesh has shut down another media outlet, the daily newspaper Amar Desh (My Country).  Quite apart from the political consequences of this hard boiled move, there’s the normative cost that bears on censorship.  In fact, as if on cue, the government, like its cousins in Pakistan, has recently shut down access to […]

read more

Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh Leaders Captured

Jamaatul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the banned terrorist organization intended to recruit new recruits and followers by setting off a series of explosions in Dhaka, reports the Daily Star. “Current JMB chief Maulana Saidur Rahman alias Zafar, who was arrested by law enforcers on Tuesday, told detectives that his detained third wife Naima Akhter, and two other […]

read more

Al Jazeera English Exposes Government Inattention to Bangladesh's Child Prostitution Rings

Yet again, Al Jazeera English has produced a piece on Bangladesh’s society that other international media outlets surely know about but have done little to highlight.  The issue is child prostitution in Bangladesh, compounded by new reports that young girls are being coerced to ingest animal steroids in order to attract customers at a higher […]

read more

Cabinet Approves Expatriate Welfare Bank

Realizing full well the impact of remittance payments on the overall Bangladeshi economy, the sitting government has announced that it would rein in the ways and means of sending payments back home through back, underground channels. In a complementary move, the cabinet announced a new Expatriate Welfare bank that would provide loans to workers who wish […]

read more

Bangladesh, Russia Sign 5-Year Peaceful Nuclear Deal

In another bold and well-calculated move, the government of Bangladesh has reached out to yet another powerful country and has made of it another ally. This time, the government through Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and her aides have reached a five-year deal with their Russian counterparts to share peaceful nuclear technology, design and capability in order […]

read more

Bangladesh and Pakistan in Nicholas Kristof's Bent View

Nicholas Kristof recently wrote a piece that dealt with Pakistan and Bangladesh’s parralel and diverging moves on Islamist socialization and education.  The piece, published in the Times editorial page, has set off a run of  commentary.  To some extent this is a welcome development; considered another way, it is an unnecessary set of talk backs on […]

read more

BNP Announces Dates for Nationwide Protests and Strikes

The BNP has finally announced a plan for nation-wide protests.  Beginning with a sit in on June 9 to protest controversial High Court Appointments, Begum Khaleda Zia will lead a day long strike on June 27, against what she believes to be the sitting governments ill-thought policies that sell Bangladesh and Bangladeshi sovereignty down the […]

read more