For the second time in just over a month, a blogger has been hacked to death on the streets of Dhaka in Bangladesh. The death of Washiqur Rahman sent a chilling message to Bangladeshis that the days of thinking and writing freely in our country are numbered. Rahman’s death comes just five weeks after American writer Avijit Roy was […]
The Blood of Bangladeshi Bloggers: Who Is Next? Read More »
*This article was also published in The New York Times/Women in the World.* It’s something like Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, vying for the throne, but the setting is contemporary Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina Wazed and Khaleda Zia are at loggerheads, duking it out for the country’s prime ministership. Each claims her original political
The Battle Over Secularism in Bangladesh Read More »
*This post of mine was published on Forbes Woman & The Huffington Post.* When I was growing up in Bangladesh in the early 1980s, I used to imagine America as a feminist utopia. Before I even stepped foot on her soil, I pictured America as a country where women enjoyed full equal rights, especially when it came to controlling
Could The Hobby Lobby Ruling Affect Women Around The World? Read More »
*This post of mine was also published on Huffington Post.* Poverty, natural disasters, and cheap labor may be what you would normally associate with Bangladesh, but India’s neighbor could be Asia’s next major startup hub. “Bangladesh is becoming a land of opportunity,” says Samad Miraly, a Canadian-Bangladeshi angel investor based in Dhaka. “It’s a place
Branding Bangladesh: India’s Neighbor Is Becoming A Major Startup Hub Read More »
I went home to Bangladesh after three years last month, and although the trip was personal and I try to make a point not to work, I was too honored to turn down an invitation to speak at the Fortnightly Anannya’s auditorium in Dhaka. The publication, amongst its many other social contributions, also manages a
Anushay’s Point Speaks on Feminism & Youth in Dhaka Read More »
The post- Liberation War generation of Bangladesh know stories from 1971 all too well. Our families are framed and bound by the history of this war. What Bangladeshi family has not been touched by the passion, famine, murders and blood that gave birth to a new nation as it seceded from Pakistan? Bangladesh was one
1971 Rapes: Bangladesh Cannot Hide History Read More »
This past Monday, the 26th of March, was Bangladesh’s 41st Independence Anniversary. I was so happy that the issue of women’s rights four decades after we separated from Pakistan was featured on “The Stream” on Al-Jazeera. I had worked for months to get this issue on air. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcsknTDJN4M&feature=player_embedded#!q] Bangladesh is often touted as a “development
41 Years Later: Women’s Rights in Bangladesh Read More »
I was interviewed by the wonderful site for South Asian-Canadian moms, Masala Mommas. It was my first interview as a new mom and I could not have been more excited to share and reflect on what I have learned as a proud new mom to my baby girl, Ava Aisha Pahlevani. Before I got pregnant,
Anushay’s Point Featured in Masala Mommas! Read More »
I was interviewed by British NGO A Safe World for Women Founder, Chris Crowstaff recently on some topics very close to my heart: Bangladesh, Islam and feminism. Chris and I connected over Twitter (go social media!), and we made an appointment to have a conversation about these issues. The full interview is divided into four
Working to Make A Safe World for Women Read More »
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHHNfZqMX88] Today Bangladeshis stop to remember one of the most emotional and important dates in our country’s history. On this day in 1952, after the “Principles Committee of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan” announced that Urdu would be the only state language of East and West Pakistan, a huge wave of protests erupted in Bangladesh,
What February 21st Means for Bangladeshis Read More »