adhunika blog

Perween Hasan, professor in the Department of Islamic History and Culture at Dhaka University, recently published her book Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh (London: I.B.Tauris and Co Ltd).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though the book originated as her doctoral thesis and is fairly technical in nature, with architectural terms and plans not easily accessible to the layperson, it is on a subject that is inherently interesting to Bangladeshis. How can we not be interested in the mosques around us, not be curious about their origins and history, not wonder about the ideas and environment that shaped them ? What do they reveal about the arrival of Islam in the delta from north India and beyond, about its impact and spread, about our own evolution as a nation and state? Dr. Perween Hasan, by focusing her study on the independent Bengal Sultanate period, has written a study that zeroes in on the formative era of mosque-building in the eastern part of Bengal that is now Bangladesh.
Read more: Perween Hasan: On mosque architecture and the psychic mould of today’s Bengali Muslim

I came up with the idea of writing something on the notion: if certain jobs are more suitable than others for women, from a yahoo open question which asked which of the following 3 jobs was suitable for women- physician, nurse and politician. The question also asked which of these can a women perform better than a man. What intrigued me was that although many of the answers to the question protested vehemently against stereotyping jobs for men and women, I am sure most of us (if not all) will agree that such stereotypes not just exist in every society, but are also widely accepted and followed by both men and women in every region of the world.

 

Although the scenario is slowly changing, still the number of women scientists, surgeons, politicians, members of the armed forces, government officials, construction workers, mining laborers, drivers etc. are relatively less than men. Whereas women are considered ideal for jobs as nurses, maids, waitresses, beauticians, performance artists, singers and dancers, garment workers involved in sewing and stitching and so on. Again wage disparity also exists in similar jobs for men and women in many sectors all around the world.

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From Our Archive: 

“Volunteerism is the willingness of people to work on behalf of others without the expectation of pay or other tangible gain… the vast majority work on an impromptu basis, recognising a need and filling it, whether it be the dramatic search for a lost child or the mundane giving of directions to a lost visitor.” – a definition of Volunteerism by Wikipedia is the closest to the meaning I was looking for that I came across when I searched the net.

During my short visit to ‘home sweet home’ in summer 2006, I was told repeatedly “Volunteerism is a luxury for the people around here’, when I was trying to recruit volunteers for Adhunika.  Yet, I found the same old norms and values of immediate and the extended family (which often includes friends) to be there in time of crisis. (more…)

Support the Initiative of SpaandanB Relief Efforts for Flood Victims in Bangladesh:

The flood situation in Bangladesh is grave and the flood victims need help. As in 2004, 1998, SpaandanB is raising funds to help the flood victims. SpandaanB chapters are actively working to raise funds for flood relief. As always, their goal is to maximize the benefit of the actual flood victims. Accordingly, SpaandanB will bear the expenses for collecting the funds and remitting them to Bangladesh. Visit SpaandanB for Detail