In recent years, Bangladesh has seen the emergence of a large number of young writers whose works have been well-received by readers of all ages. Owakila Tabassum Mumu is one such writer who has successfully carved a place in the hearts of readers from all walks of life with the magic her fingers have woven into the pages of her books.
Her first book, Jhajhin Sheyola was published in the Ekushey Boi Mela (Bangladesh’s national book fair) in 2021. The book was also a best-seller on Rokomari.com, Bangladesh’s biggest online bookshop.
Her second book is Go te Gali Fo te Feminist, a research-based book on gender roles and feminism that was released in February of 2022. This book is being widely used in research by various NGOs and as a teaching material by many trainers in gender capacity-building training. The book will be translated in English very soon.
Mohuar mod o koyekti prempatra, her third creation, is a novella that was released at the Ekushey Book Fair 2023 and has received positive feedback from readers of all ages.
Aside from being an author, she works for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), an INGO and research organisation in the communication department. She is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Development Studies at BIGD (BRAC Institute of Governance and Development), BRAC University. She has authored several articles for national newspapers and magazines.
In this interview Owakila Tabassum Mumu reflects on her journey as an author, discusses the challenges that aspiring authors face in Bangladesh, and shares her top three pieces of advice for aspiring authors.
How did you get started as an author? What inspires you to write?
There are stacks of books everywhere in our house because almost everyone in the family is a bookworm. So, naturally, I became drawn to books and stories from my childhood.
But this isn’t the only thing that inspired me to write. There’s a story behind it that has stayed with me even years after I first learned about it, and it will continue to motivate me to write until the end of my life.
I was in sixth grade, getting ready for lunch, completely unaware that I was about to witness something that would change my life forever. Our housekeeper’s aunt came through the door of my room, which I was about to leave to go to the dining table, and began crying uncontrollably in front of me and my mother, who was standing next to me, as perplexed as I was.
Although I cannot go into great detail about what happened to her here for personal reasons, I can say that on that day, I learned about the plight of women in this society, particularly those who are unaware of their rights, through her words. Following this incident, I vowed to become the voice of women who needed to be heard through my writings, and I am still working tirelessly to keep this promise I made to myself.
What difficulties might an aspiring writer face in Bangladesh?
It takes a lot of patience, hard work, and sometimes luck to become an author. I’ve dealt with numerous internal and external issues.
The intrinsic challenges are very personal and vary from person to person. Extrinsic challenges, on the other hand, are common and difficult to overlook in Bangladesh.
The difficulties begin with the search for a suitable publishing house. Although there are thousands of publishing houses, only a few value and respect new writers.
The royalty percentage is also unsatisfactory, and it is unfortunate that many authors do not receive the royalty they deserve, especially from their first book.
Furthermore, even in today’s internet-based world, publishers use outdated methods to promote the books, which makes it difficult for aspiring writers to survive and grow. The distribution channels are not modern either.
What are your plans for the future? What are some of your key suggestions for aspiring authors?
The future is unpredictable! All I can say is that I want to continue writing and giving my readers new perspectives on life, while also reinventing myself with each book.
Along with my writing career, I hope to make a significant contribution to the development sector and social research in Bangladesh.
These are my suggestions for aspiring writers: Read, read and read: The more we read, the more words, thoughts, ideas, and conversations we consume. When all of these factors come together, we can generate innovative ideas and gain the ability to present these ideas to others in an organized manner. It goes without saying that new ideas, as well as how you communicate them to others, play an important role in making an author successful.
Determine why you wish to write: This is a difficult question because there is no definitive answer, but we should consider it. If an author can find the answer by asking his or her heart and mind, he or she will be able to predict which path he or she will take, giving him or her a reason to write whenever they struggle to do so.
Every time, go all out: Given how competitive the industry is, it will be difficult for an author to survive and succeed without high-quality content. I think, every author is connected in the sense that we all want to connect with people by sharing our thoughts. To make that connection, we must give our best effort every time we pick up a pen to write.
Sharmin Kabir, Founder, Wreetu Health and Well-being Foundation
Sharmin Kabir
Founder, Wreetu Health and Well-being Foundation
Sharmin Kabir was raised in Kishorganj. She completed her schooling in her village before studying English Linguistics as an undergraduate at BRAC and later studied TESOL at the Master’s level. Sharmin Kabir has enrolled in DU’s MPhil program, where she is studying Menstrual Hygiene Management. Her topic is about using technology to bridge the gap between resource availability and information.
After completing her Master’s degree, She joined BRAC IED for a full-time project, and her field of work mainly focused on adolescent girls. During that time, she realised that these girls don’t have adequate resources or information on period or puberty health. Furthermore, the change in mindset and general appearance during adolescence left these girls with a lack of self-confidence. They lacked knowledge about menstruation health since they were never told about it. Using her personal experience and some internet search, Sharmin Kabir decided to break the stigma to make sure Bangladeshi girls can talk freely about menstruation health without hesitance. In 2016, she left BRAC to found Wreetu, an organisation aiming to remove the period taboo once and for all. From her field experience, she found that period hygiene is a neglected topic in Bangladesh.
The main challenge was the hesitance of people not talking about the period, which could be a problem. According to Ms. Kabir, the gap needs to be identified by parents or schools. But there is much scope to talk about it. Wreetu had to eradicate the mentality of not talking about menstruation. Another challenge was to create the necessary awareness in both genders regarding the topic. Wreetu has completed a movement under the guidance of Ms. Sharmin. Her sisters and relatives felt skeptical about her work, thus getting little support from the family. Many schools felt negligent about menstruation, but now they are speaking out. Ms. Sharmin had a difficult time assembling a team.
There is a knowledge gap everywhere regarding the period. A common effort is given during the ice-breaking sessions, making them aware that the period is something to discuss. Another challenge faced during these times was that young adults are more negative than teenagers. The vision of Ms. Sharmin regarding Wreetu is to eradicate the taboo regarding periods once and for all by 2030.
Maleena Gomez, Creative Director, Aneemal Studios
Maleena Gomez
Creative Director, Aneemal Studios
“I started my career in advertising in 2013 — just imagine a 19-year-old juggling art school and crazy work hours and the image is pretty much what I was 10 years ago!” quoted Ms. Maleena.
Being a young recruit, she always had to work extra hours and had no scope for slip-ups, but it instilled in her a constant drive to prove her skills and talents to show that she was fit for the role she was given.
There was a point in her career as an Art Director where she was assigned to lead a team of assets — who were much older than she was, and all men to boot. Needless to say, it really was quite a struggle to get the team to accept her authority, in fact, it was fairly intimidating at some points as well. But she had full faith in herself and what she was doing, also with all respect to the leaders who thought she would be fit for that role, she pushed through. Soon enough her team recognized that as well and they accepted her with love and admiration.
Today, she is managing her own design studio (Aneemal Studios) as Creative Director and Project Lead, while also operating as the Creative Head for Monno Ceramics, a company with a significant stage presence in the Bangladeshi ceramics industry. It’s worth noting that the designers and marketers, in both teams, that I’m working with are all younger than me.
As a female entrepreneur and professional handling all these titles and leadership roles, she still often faces difficulty being taken seriously and having people following her instructions. She never stopped believing in herself and her abilities for a day, and doesn’t plan on doing so anytime soon. She thinks hard work, confidence, and knowing how to hold her ground strongly can help her grow.
Shomy Hasan Chowdhury, Co-Founder, Awareness 360
Shomy Hasan Chowdhury
Co-Founder, Awareness 360
Ms. Shomy was privileged to grow up in an open-minded family. However, as she was trying to establish herself as a social impact entrepreneur, requiring her to interact with the broader society, the gender imbalance that still exists today became increasingly apparent to her. She experienced similar hardships as other Bangladeshi women, including getting unsolicited advice on every facet of life and being protected at the expense of her freedom. Others didn’t have much confidence in her, and she often needed to prove herself. People questioned her intentions, actions, and outcomes. When people hear her success story, they appear surprised, as though it’s difficult to believe a young woman can do remarkable things.
She is often invited to high-level events around the world to speak about her work; at this point, she is used to immigration officers’ raised eyebrows. In 2018, she was invited by the Government of Pakistan to be an International Election Observer of Pakistan’s General Elections, appointed by the Commonwealth Secretary-General Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland. She struggled to persuade certain officials that she had been assigned such a significant responsibility. Aside from these personal struggles, she also noted the disproportionate impact of women in her line of work. Women founders continue to struggle with access to funding. In the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector, girls and women shoulder the burden in most communities. For instance, it is them who are tasked to walk mile after mile to fetch water, skipping out on prospects for employment and education. This even puts them at risk of sexual assault.
Dismantling patriarchy in all of its manifestations, in order to establish gender equality and equity, is a long process. Even if the seed they are planting today might not bear fruit right away, we shouldn’t give up. This is why she feels motivated to continue her work despite the challenges, to lead by example, and to celebrate small wins, in hope of leaving a collective lasting legacy that will benefit present and future generations.
Sarah Zita, National Consultant at UNDP, Consultant at Joyeeta Foundation
Sarah Zita
National Consultant at UNDP, Consultant at Joyeeta Foundation
After studying at BAF Shaheen Jessore, she came to Dhaka with a dream. Without any knowledge of the level of competition in the outside world, she gave it her all and eventually received a degree in finance and banking. She recalls her school days, when she wrote an essay about dreaming of being an entrepreneur one day. Her dream was shunned by the teacher, who suggested that she change her aim, as a doctor or an engineer would suit a woman better. She was the only female taking up commerce subjects in her college, even when she was an ace student and was expected to take up science by her peers. She took a leap of faith and expressed her desire to go ahead with commerce.
Her work life was not easy either. Inspired by a woman in a senior management role at her workplace, she desired to fly high like her. As a female working in a male-centric role, she had to face a lot of challenges because of her vocal personality. Her realisation came when she saw that a female working in any similar position as a man struggles harder to make a place for herself. This was also when the dream of being an entrepreneur became deeper when she understood the significance of having female entrepreneurs in the country. She was courageous and was not afraid to speak her heart out. She was also under additional pressure to care for her home as a wife and daughter-in-law. Even though she had to leave her job when she became a mother, she could not leave her passion for starting a business. This is when destiny took an interesting turn.
In early 2012, she was inspired by her childhood friend who worked in eCommerce and started Monihari, which was one of the first businesses to do customised products such as T-shirts. She was invited by eCAB to gather with similar eCommerce entrepreneurs, where she was the only woman. There she expressed her desire to work with women entrepreneurs, and Women & eCommerce was started with her involvement. From then on, she went on to work with Anondomela, UNDP, and the Joyeeta Foundation, all guided by her passion to work as an entrepreneur and her zeal to do something for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh who go through similar challenges.
Jasmine Jui, Chief Executive Officer, Bijoy Digital
Jasmine Jui
Ms. Jasmine studied at Azimpur Girls’ High School and was always keen to read. She noticed that she was good at recitation. At that adolescent age, she did not know what to do with her life but coming from a very conservative family in Old Dhaka, she grew up in a traditional environment. She knew that she did not want to be recognised as someone’s wife or daughter. She needs to have her own identity. Her career started when she took up tuition during her SSC. She realised that she has a good potential in the teaching field. She went ahead with a teaching career and luckily faced no restrictions as her peers felt that teaching is a secured career for females. She completed her Honours in English at Eden Mohila College.
She taught at Holy Cross School and College but she had to leave after two years as she was blessed with a daughter. She later joined Raihan School as an English teacher and spent 9 years teaching. She later felt stuck and realised that there was not much space to grow. She wanted to explore something new, still she was afraid to take a step forward. However through a circle of networking, she was hired to work at, which would later be named as Bijoy Digital. She had Mustafa Jabbar as her mentor to guide her. Mustafa Jabbar saw her sincerity, work ethic and honesty. She recalls her personal journey throughout her 14 years of career at Bijoy Digital which not only helped her grow professionally but personally as well. She got to explore her creative side and used her experience as an English teacher to work behind the production process of Bijoy Digital.
She had a big role in building the character “Bijoy” as she wanted to have the essence of Bangladeshi root in the character. Bijoy Digital works to digitise the primary books for kids from preschool to class five. She had a vision and she lived up to it. Today, everyone recognises her as the woman behind Bijoy Digital.
In the early 70s, Sanjida Kasem started her school life. She started her education at Little Jewels School and then continued to Agrani Girls School which had 4 disciplines to study, unlike many other schools of that time. When she was in class 8, she chose to be a Chartered Accountant following her father becoming ill. Previously she dreamt of becoming a doctor just like any other girl back then. The trouble with becoming a CA was, there was no proper female CAs to talk about the challenges.
Inspired by her SSC results, she finally thought of becoming the CA she always dreamed of. She completed her graduation in 1988 from a comprehensive course and enrolled in CA. She passed her CA and then CMA in 1991 with one go. After her completion, she joined her father’s firm and worked for a while. Later she moved to work in Singapore. And then, came back to Bangladesh to work full-time at her father’s firm. “On the contrary to what people think that I don’t have to go to the office since it belonged to my father, I worked like any other employee would do,” said Ms. Sanjida.
According to Ms. Kasem, in the field of CA, the given allowance is not enough to survive compared to the effort invested towards the job. Academically, DU now offers 11 subjects, up from four previously. This makes it easier for women to obtain leadership positions. As well as, if these prospects are missed, this will be a massive mistake. Even if a woman does not advance to a higher level of management, there is always room for middle-level management roles because young women can multitask without losing focus. Women prefer to work in a cleaner environment which is why they are less likely to be associated with any criminal activity such as corruption. However, females stay in the labour force for a shorter period of time because there is no adequate infrastructure or logistical support to encourage them.
Another problem faced by women is the lack of a childcare system in this country. If we address these then soon we can see female employment rising higher. According to Ms. Sanjida, you can’t have everything. As a woman, Sanjida had to sacrifice some things from her life that her family is now used to. Sometimes, some opportunities are missed to give time to family as she loves to give time to her family and her colleagues too.
People are taking CA more seriously than they used to before and it is reflected by the numbers.
Certain initiatives from the institutes and firms have popularised the CA culture to more females and women are now in a more strategic position playing an important role by encouraging young girls which is making the companies more enthusiastic to hire females in designated positions.
Anisa Murshed is a Bangladeshi bead artist holding 20 years of experience. She took up the craft as a hobby when she was just 10 years old, and mastered bead art with years of self-practice.
On August 12th, 2022, on her birthday, Anisa broke the Guinness World Record for the “Longest Thread of Beads Made by an Individual in One Hour” as part of her initiative to promote bead art as well as her expertise in this field. An official declaration from Guinness was given on 1st November 2022 after a series of evidence reviews.
She is currently the only female to still hold an individual Guinness World Record title from Bangladesh.
A marketing specialist by trade, Anisa initiated her passion project “Hey AniSay” back in 2021, through which she showcases creatively unique and millennial forms of bead art.
Breaking a Guinness World Record is a goliath task, for it demands numerous steps of preparation, submission, and evidence-proofing over a span of months. Sometimes it takes years.
The thread of beads that Anisa created was 42.3 meters long, with 1,671 beads in total. The previous record for the same title was 32.7 meters which Anisa successfully exceeded by almost 10 meters to claim herself to be “Officially Amazing!” Less than 10 individuals have claimed the Guinness World Titles from Bangladesh.
“The creativity, effort, and time put behind a piece of bead art gets overlooked as bead art is not a very popular form of craft. Particularly in Bangladesh, where handcrafted products do not gain the admiration it deserves. Beading is not just a craft; it is an exercise that helps develop creativity, focus, and patience. Through my initiatives, I want to inspire Bangladeshi crafters to take up bead art, earn from it and eventually take local bead art initiatives to the world.” says Anisa.
“It’s pretty much how we expect or imagine it to be. It’s pretty much what we read in books or see in English movies or shows. Thanks to the internet and social media, we are much more aware of how things are in other parts of the world. Honestly speaking, I wasn’t too taken aback with the culture over here.”
This is how Faria Tahsin, who moved to England last year to pursue her postgraduate studies, described her overall experience of moving to a new country on her own for the first time after spending more than two decades in Bangladesh surrounded by family and friends.
But, with 70,000-90,000 Bangladeshi students from various parts of the country and growing up in different environments traveling overseas for higher education each year, does everyone find it so easy to cope with all the sudden changes that come with moving to a different country?
Definitely not. This is why, even 62 years after the first time it was coined by anthropologist Kalvero Oberg, the phrase “culture shock” comes up so frequently in our conversations. Loosely defined, culture shock is the feeling of disorientation that a person experiences when moving to a different cultural environment than their own.
When asked about their experience, students who have studied abroad or are currently doing so mostly talk about the positive aspects of moving to a foreign country, such as the opportunity to meet new people, the opportunity to see new places, and the satisfaction of being able to do whatever they want and whenever they want. What they leave out are the gut-punching shocks, unfamiliarity, and loneliness.
In February of this year, I moved to England to pursue a long-held ambition of becoming a Barrister. I had been mentally preparing for the move for over two years, and I had planned for it for the majority of my life. However, once here, I realized that no amount of mental or physical preparation would’ve been sufficient for such a significant change in my life.
The majority of what you will hear about this putting you in control of your life and giving you the freedom to do whatever you want is true. You don’t have to answer to anyone for your actions in a strange, foreign country.
Your parents will not be waiting for you at home, and they will not interrogate you as soon as you walk in the door, asking where you’ve been all day. They won’t even call you as frequently when you are out having fun with your friends or doing something else.
However, this feeling is accompanied by a sense of sadness that develops after a few days, when the sense of missing home sets in and the excitement of freedom fades. Trust me when I say that the honeymoon phase in this case does not last long.
No one will ask you if you ate today, if you’re feeling well. If you get sick, no one’s going to bring you soup in bed nor do you have the opportunity to lie all day in bed because you have chores waiting for you.
With no one to look after them, most students tend to let go of self-care when they move abroad. They forget to stick to a normal eating and sleeping schedule as these aspects are easy to overlook.
When I first moved here, I started eating unhealthy snacks instead of normal healthy meals, and this continued for a month, until it became a habit. For months, I couldn’t get back into my old routine, and because of this, I had almost no energy to do anything all day.
But, with time, I was able to pick up some tricks that helped me deal with the culture shock. I’d like to share my top five tips with the readers, especially those who are moving abroad to study, in the hope that they can benefit from my experience.
Gather as much information as you can about the place and its people beforehand:
This will help you adjust to your surroundings and interact with the locals to some extent. Not interacting with others can be a more serious issue for someone who has recently moved to another country than many people may realize.
With all of the additional challenges you will face, not talking will almost certainly lead to a decline in mental health. In fact, I’ve recently started taking therapy to deal with this.
Knowing about the place will save you from a lot of unnecessary troubles as well. For example, because I didn’t do enough research on the weather in the UK, I suffered from a skin condition for the first three months I lived here.
Learn to cook the foods you enjoy eating:
Learn to cook your favourite foods and get used to eating the same meals for a week because you won’t most likely have time to cook more than once a week. Learning to cook will also help you save a lot of money.
Understand the academic expectations:
As a student, you will most likely have to follow a completely different academic structure. This is going to take some time. The key to solving this puzzle is to not become frustrated and to give yourself that time.
You must also remember that it’s okay to ask for help. Professors and advisors are extremely helpful and will usually help you with whatever you need.
Never compare your progress to that of others:
Everyone is unique and learns at their own pace. So, our responses to change will undoubtedly differ from one another. When learning how to deal with culture shock, avoid comparing yourself to others, especially if they have previously visited that country.
Find stress-relieving techniques that work for you:
To say the least, adjusting to culture shock is a nerve-wracking ordeal. So, it is crucial that you find ways to relieve stress. Again, no two people are alike, so what works for one person may not work for another. Best of luck figuring out what works best for you.
The authors
Arafat Reza is a journalist and an aspiring legal academic.
Nafia Haque is a Research Associate at Stellar Chambers.
Footsteps Bangladesh, a renowned next-generation organisation, is extensively working to ensure safe water access in marginalised communities across the country through its venture Project Trishna.
Since 2015, Project Trishna has been working to create water accessibility by installing filtration units in government and non-government schools where safe water availability is very limited due to high levels of contamination.
Besides providing water facilities to schools children, thousands of people in several public places and government hospitals have been served every day through the water filtration units that Footsteps has provided.
Since last year, the project has expanded its operation by setting up tubewells in rural communities where the people struggle to meet their daily need for water in their regular activities. Till date, Footsteps impacted over lives of 3,00,000 people in 27 different districts through its projects.
Like every year, Footsteps has launched a month-long campaign in this holy month of Ramadan where they are accepting donations and Sadaqah from the loving hands of mass people. Taslima Begum is one of the beneficiaries whose family has been provided with a tubewell by a portion of the funds Footsteps collected from last year’s campaign.
Following this year, Footsteps is working diligently with an aim to ensure water accessibility for 5,00,000 people across Bangladesh this year only. With your participation in the campaign, you can spread and share their joy across boundaries where people are devoid of even the basic necessities of life.
Amal Foundation, a local NGO which mainly focuses on poverty alleviation in remote locations, has partnered with IPDC, a non-bank financial institution, to tackle child marriage which has been a pressing issue during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both partners collaborated to develop a unique project to prevent child marriage: the IPDC Child Marriage Prevention Loan, powered by Amal Foundation, launched as a pilot project in the Bogura district in March 2022, said a press release.
The Child Marriage Prevention Loan (CMPL) is a conditional zero-interest microfinance loan that helps poor parents to start sustainable businesses if they meet the following three criteria.
The loan applicants must be parents of 12- to 18-year-old girl children. Secondly, the girls cannot be married before the legal age. Lastly, they must be educated until the end of high school.
IPDC and Amal acquire, validate, and authorise loan applications based on these criteria. Then, parents commit to marrying their daughters off only after they are of legal age and have completed high school, added the press release.
COVID-19 has created a new chapter in the digital and e-commerce sectors all over the world; as well as in Bangladesh.
And, in this new chapter with the beginning of the New Year, a group of young and creative individuals has come up with an innovative business idea called Sell Bee.
‘???? ???’ is a ‘B2B2C’ (business to business to consumer) platform that handles all aspects of e-business. Bee360° and Bee180° are the two primary services that they offer. Bee360° is for those who want to start a new online business from scratch, while Bee180° is for those who already have a business and want to improve it.
Through these two prominent services mentioned above, they provide a wide range of facilities, such as Website, Product Supply, Product Packaging, Product Photography, Delivery System, Online Marketing & Boosting service, E-business Analysis, and Promotional Content.
Sell Bee is integrating all of these services under one roof, which makes an online trader’s work easier and motivates them to make more engagement with their business to accomplish their desired goals.
Did you know? you can follow us on instagram too! Check out our feed: https://instagram.com/thefrontpagebd
On LinkedIn? Why not follow us here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thefrontpagebd
Evaly is one of the most progressive online e-commerce marketplaces to exist in Bangladesh. Its rapid growth in popularity has steely changed the way e-commerce markets are viewed today.
Evaly ensures to be an online platform under which general consumers can buy and sell products with highly discounted price tags. Discounted entities were a notable deal that appealed to many, setting off Evaly’s profit records. By selling products way below the market price, Evaly has been operating at a net loss of 316.4 crores as of 14th March.
For the past two years, Evaly has faced immense backlash for its product delivery issues. Many customers had to pay for the product without receiving it, in months. Enraged, they sought out Evaly’s customer care, where they were ghosted from time to time. Several complaints were issued, even on Facebook pages, with no proper response from the e-commerce site.
Evaly’s cashback policy (100% to 150% cashback), gift cards, vouchers along with mind-boggling discounts, were placed on items for half the market value. Manufacturers provide a maximum input of 15% discount for their dealers. Evaly enlists inflated discount rates on products, luring consumers to easily fall victim to damaged goods. CEO, Mohammad Rassel directs the blame on systematic limitations.
Even after noticeable outrage, none of the customers filed an official case against Evaly, in hopes of eventually getting their product(s) or the ‘tantalizing’ cashback offer back.
A prolonged investigation was then commenced by the DNCRP, the Ministry of Commerce, the anti-corruption commission and the Bangladesh Bank where evidence of at least eight types of irregularities was found, with provisions for the imprisonment of seven years for such offence.
After receiving countless complaints from unsatisfied customers, BRAC Bank, Bank Asia and Dhaka Bank Ltd proceeded to temporarily suspend card transactions made with 10 e-commerce sites, including Evaly.
The Ministry of Commerce decided to introduce legislation regarding e-commerce market policies. Advanced payments made to the e-commerce merchants will be kept in the Bangladesh Bank, which will only be provided to the merchants or platforms after the customers receive their products. This protects buyer-seller contracts, ensuring satisfactory customer service and the overall wellbeing of the e-commerce market.
From the beginning of the early 1800s, a three-wheeler known as RICKSHAW is a popular meansof transport. Over the decades, rickshaws stood out as a representation of the South-Asian culture, lifestyle and soon, became part of an economical entity.
Innovation and convenience gave rise to the modified transport called Battery-Driven Rickshaws.The number of batter-driven rickshaws have exponentially increased in metropolitan cities like Dhaka – in the size of at least thousands.
Unemployed individuals, without sufficient technical skills and slight physical disabilities found jobs with these vehicles. These rickshaws, unlike the traditional ones operate in high speed, without much effort, the low fare just added to the popularity of these rickshaws.
Even though, it brought convenience and inclusivity, in terms of employment – these rickshaws also had a massive drawback. They gave rise to high levels of traffic, and heightened pollution rates.
Battery-run rickshaws were also suspected to be fatal to life, as they recorded multiple accidents.
The vehicle’s poor braking system on the front wheel and high centre of gravity allowed it to brake inadequately and often times, the entire rickshaw toppled over during turning. All of these meant that the vehicle did hold a lot of risk for its passengers
Battery-run rickshaws did open a lot of doors for people, however it came with a lot of unfortunate incidents too. Thus after taking into account the incidents that unfolded, the Home Minister of Bangladesh, Asaduzzaman Khan announced a ban on battery-run rickshaws on June 20th 2021 due to safety concerns and traffic congestion.
He said
“These vehicles are plying in different cities and this is a concern for the government,”
According to many people, a new improved design of the rickshaw could have been the answer to the problems, and not banning.
In a world filled with creativity and productivity, freelancing has opened up a wide window for enthusiasts who want to lead a life out of the box. In Bangladesh where the job market is so saturated, freelancing has raised numerous opportunities for the youths of the country. The top future-proof freelancing skills are apprehended in the following.
Website development: This freelance skill will surf up the waves of demand, both in the present and in the future. As organisations and entrepreneurs are shifting their paradigm towards online-oriented business strategies, website development is at the top of freelancing skills. Not to mention the aspects uprising of COVID-19 which initiated e-commerce more than ever in Bangladesh.
Data engineering: Data engineers focus on the applications and harvesting of big data. Creating mechanisms for collecting and validating data is the responsibility of a data engineer. They are hands-on information processing professionals with tasks that range from data storage to data manipulation. Data engineering has been the leading factor behind the growth of many ventures that have found success in recent years and sooner or later Bangladesh will have to walk the same path.
Social media specialisation: Social media is the best place to grow and extend the consumer base for digital businesses. A specialist who can correspond to the growth of the business in social platforms can build up an infrastructure for the new ventures.
Creative writing: Every business in Bangladesh thrives to have some qualifiedindividuals who can back up the digital contents, website, and articles that are publishedfrom the organisation to be top-notched. That’s when a creative writer comes to play.Writing articles, blogs, news and contents about the products and services in an appealing way is the goal of every creative writer.
Expertise in Cybersecurity: As businesses are emerging from left and right in the digital platform,like the traditional form of businesses, digital businesses also need a wall of protectionfrom extremities. That’s why cyber-security planted a stronghold in the freelancingmarket.
Amazon, one of the world’s most influential tech giants recently acquired Business Identification Number (BIN) from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in Bangladesh.
Around the same time, Google obtained BIN as well. This is the first-time non-residential companies registered for BIN in this country.
This news was met with a lot of excitement, especially when people thought Amazon was bringing their e-commerce services. Much to their dismay, no such thing is happening. The move was just to ensure business continuity of their AWS (Amazon Web Services).
AWS is a secure cloud services platform of Amazon offering multiple services including compute power, data processing. It is trusted by many firms, as it saves their time, money and potential. The use of AWS is not only limited to firms, people using subscriptions of google drive and google cloud also use this.
Amazon and other tech giants earn around Tk3000 crore in Bangladesh from these services of AWS. Until now, payment for this by Bangladeshi customers used to be done by international credit cards.
However, there are allegations that many use illegal channels for this, which is not compliant with NBR regulations.
Getting BIN means, now the payment of the services can be done by cards of any Bangladeshi bank or Mobile Bank, without any need of currency exchange. However, with every payment 15% VAT will be charged and the money from the VAT will go to the government reserve.
Upon asking on whether this move will change the way in which Amazon works in Bangladesh, the VAT online project director said “Amazon will continue in the same way as before, but the process will now be compliant with regulations “
According to industry experts, in the near future Amazon doesn’t have any plans of bringing their e-commerce services to Bangladesh. The registration was done to ensure business continuity of their AWS.
More commonly recognized as Black Fungus, Mucormycosis is a rare condition of fungal infection, surfacing among recovered or recovering COVID-19 patients. Originally caused by moulds formed in decaying organic compounds, it is labelled as a non-contagious infection but is potentially fatal.
How does it spread?
The infection spreads from airways to body tissues, causing necrosis of skin cells (blackening). Coronavirus, Diabetes, poor immune system, liver or cardiac defects, excessive use of steroids amplifies chances of being infected. Dirty oxygen cylinders, humidifiers and unsanitary conditions contribute to the accelerated growth of the number of cases, experts say.
India is currently facing the worst phase of COVID-19 as the second wave circulated. The given circumstances of diabetic patients, unhygienic medical equipment and lower oxygen concentrations create an ideal habitat to be infected by the fatal disease. 900,000 cases of Black Fungus have been recorded in India, with an alarming 50% fatality rate.
English