| Dhaka Diary
Crazy Criticism
One afternoon, at a renowned kabab house in Dhanmondi, exhausted and hungry I was waiting to be served my food. All of a sudden I heard a girl screaming inside the restaurant. Shocked and puzzled I turned around and saw a young girl of about 16 talking over the cell phone in one corner. She was so ecstatic that she was completely oblivious to her surroundings and went on talking loudly. Everyone could hear her. A group of girls seated in front of me began to comment on the young girl's antics. "That insane girl must have heard a 'jotil' news or something," said one. "I got 3 A's!" screamed the young girl. Immediately,  another girl from the group exclaimed, "That girl must have passed her exams for the first time in her life." Another one added, "She must be a weak student and passed her exams quite unexpectedly." I noticed that there were also a good number of boys and men who were amused at her youthful exuberance, though later on, they seemed to be a little annoyed at her prolonged and loud conversation in a public place. However, they said nothing. On the contrary, that group of girls continued to make derogatory comments on every sentence they could hear from her. I recalled my mother once saying, "Women don't need enemies for they are their own enemies."
Ahmad Ferdous Bin Alam
Department of CSE, DU
GloriousGamble
Last week one of my colleagues encountered a group of miscreants. She was standing and waiting for transport to go to Banani, when suddenly a yellow cab came and offered to take her. My colleague took the lift, but after going a few yards the cab halted and just as she sensed something wrong and was about to step out of the taxi, three men barged inside and asked her to sit down. They questioned her continuously and when they found out that she was the wrong person, they returned her the cell phone and 800 taka that they had taken from her. Moreover, they also arranged another taxi for her to go to her workplace. Won't there ever come a time when people in Dhaka city can commute from place to place feeling secure?
Sabah Hossain
Canadian International School
Attacked
This incident occurred in front of me a few days ago. I was walking to the bus stand when I saw a group of female sex workers. There were more than 10 of them. What amazed me the most was that they were stopping other people and taking money from them. I was very shocked seeing that a boy of around 18 or 19 was a victim as well. The sex workers surrounded him and kept harassing him for money. The helpless boy could do nothing but pay them. Seeing this I walked faster. I had no intention of becoming their second target. I wonder how many people are attacked this way every day. Can nothing be done regarding this matter?
Rahat Ahmed
Mohammadpur.
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