The Uncultured Project

For those used to life in Dhaka City, the only breaking aspect of this story might be that the curfew has been imposed a few hours early this year. Police and military imposed curfews happen with such regularity here, they really need a more efficient system of announcing them. I, like many people here, found out by getting a call from a relative. This relative, in turn, found out from her children as they were returning home. Thank God for cellphones – I made it back with but minutes to spare.

Curfews are not at all uncommon here in Bangladesh. My very first blog post here was regarding the post-riot curfews that were imposed across the country. This curfew is a lot more limited. It’s restricted to the parts of the city where foreigners tend to live, shop, and hang out. These areas are also the few places in the country where you can get alcohol. I guess the official government/police/military explanation (it’s really hard to tell them apart now seeing how democratic rule is currently suspended) is that they want to avoid drunk and disorderly behavior.

But some people aren’t buying that story. I’ve written up an article for NowPublic talking about some of the speculation that I’ve been hearing. I guess, when you live in a place where curfews can be imposed on short notice, it’s easy to start speculating.

A copy of the NowPublic article is available after the jump. You can also read it at this link.

Continue reading ‘Dhaka Rings In New Year with (Limited) Curfew’

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Who is Benazir Bhutto and why is she someone who should be remembered even if you’ve never heard of her before? She was a politician and former Prime Minister of Pakistan. But more importantly, she was the first female leader of a Muslim country. She didn’t walk around in a burqa, cover her face, or get bullied/wiped/stoned by any man. In many respects, she was a catalyst for the emergence of progressive Muslim countries which were democratic, progressive, and respectful of both women and female leadership.

Now she’s dead.

And I can’t help but think that those who killed her did so because they hate democracy, progress, and don’t want to respect women or see another female as a leader of a Muslim country ever again.

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