adhunika blog

From our Archive:

Tents, excited faces, flowing and vibrantly colored “penguin gowns” with the mortar board - long, interminable speeches with congratulatory notes, sitting on the edge of your chair, wondering whether you will stumble as you walk up when your name is called. Mis-pronounced names and associated giggles, the occaisional catcalls and whistles - and then the downpour!

Mid-May to mid June in the US is the graduation season for most colleges and universities. Card shops and Hallmark go out of their way to step over each other with their creative “Congratulations, Graduate!” cards, knick-knacks and gift items. Proud grandparents and parents crisscross the nation, making their way to graduation ceremonies and back. (more…)

Photo: Anamika - our youngest patron of Adhunika

Photo Courtesy: JH

Visit Wikipedia to learn about Pohela Boishakh

By Labiba Ali

What defines the 21^st century modern Bangladeshi woman? Have we made any progress in the last 100 years of global women’s emancipation? Although many would disagree that compared to our Western counterparts we, the Bangladeshi women, have not shattered the glass ceiling but have continued to be the householder I think the Bangladeshi woman have come a long way. Not because we have had two female heads of state but because the ordinary Bangladeshi woman have made a new place for herself in the modern Bangladeshi society.

Looking at my own family, I see each generation of woman progressing a step further. Both my grandmothers, although educated, never had a career outside the house. However, they encouraged all their daughters to pursue higher education and have careers of their own. Similarly my mother has pushed my sister and me to be all that we can be and be independent of others in our own lives. And this phenomenon has been repeated in almost all educated middle class families in Bangladesh. Now, in Dhaka, I see my old school friends having careers in the corporate and banking world, starting their own businesses, participating in academia, etc. They are also lawyers, doctors and engineers, making immense contributions to the civil society. They hold important and powerful positions as presidents, managers, and heads of NGOs. These women have redefined the Bangladeshi woman’s role and are achieving new heights. There isn’t a sector in Bangladesh that women do not participate in. Even in the international arena Bangladeshi women have broken grounds and are pursuing challenging careers in foreign lands. (more…)

[From Our Archive]

I returned to Dhaka this year after completing my graduation from Canada. Since I’ve been back, I have continuously been conscious of the facts which were different when I lived alone abroad. My choices were immense, from subway sandwiches to which professor to take for which course, nothing was as rigid as Dhaka. While in Dhaka, even where I’m going to work is not entirely my choice. If I want to switch my job, that is not just upon me, if I want to go for shopping even that depends on the availability of our car, the traffic and finding time for it. What I’m going to wear today does not depend on the current trend or my choice in clothing, it depends on where I’m going and who I’m going to be around. (more…)