Letters
Of Our Pride and Our Prejudices
Although in the above-mentioned article published in the SWM (May 03, 2008) the writer expresses her own opinion in the whole article, she has left some points out. There may still be a lot of people like this in Bangladesh, things are changing and it is not right to generalise. It is not necessarily true that walking with a guy will ruin one's life. It is not quite clear whether she said it figuratively or literally, but I have many male friends and my family knows them very well and are in very good terms with them. But its true that people from different classes are treated differently. I often do it reflexively myself but stop short when I realise what I am doing. We seem to forget that we should treat people the way we want to be treated. When we write such things publicly, I think we should remember the fact that people who don't know this country very well may also be reading it, and such a generalisation would give them a wrong view of our country.
Xareen Sattar
Godwin High School, USA
May Day in Essence
The historic May Day was triggered from a historic movement in demand for the regular working hours and other facilities for workers across the world. It was in 1886 in Chicago workers went all out for establishing their right and a meaningful identity in the society. They took to the streets to realise their demands and lost some precious lives at the wrath of the police.
Unfortunately in our country we have utterly failed to ensure that daily working hours, hygiene, and security of our labour force in the garments sector.
We should unitedly work towards ensuring workers' rights in our country. It is our duty towards the nation.
Rafiqul Islam Rime
Agrabad, Chittagong
The Muktijoddha's Wife
The Dhaka Diary column (April25, 2008) revealed the sad story of a Muktijoddha's wife who was caught bagging food into her bag at a programme. The writer's unfathomable shock made me more upset. Taking food away from a programme in Bangabhaban obviously tarnished her and her family's image. But the reason is too obvious as the price of necessities is increasing so steeply I wonder what condition this freedom fighter's family is surviving in. One fine day this woman finds herself in the midst of a heap of luxurious food and out of maternal affection for her children took to such an extreme measure. But is that a shame only for her family? It's a shame for the whole country that we cannot provide sufficient food for the Muktijoddha's family because of whose sacrifices they are flaunting their sceptres. It's very easy for us to laugh at a poor woman's miseries but she is the wife of a freedom fighter and it is the nation's responsibility to look after her and her family's welfare which clearly is not taking place. It is the disgrace of a whole nation that such a woman and her family are not taken care of by the state.
Fatima Khatun
Department of English
Khulna University
Let's Flip the Coin
It is heartening to see our cricketers taking part in 'Women's Asia Cup 2008' and competing against all the big names in women's cricket. 
Because of cultural and social obligations, it has taken a while for our women cricketers to aspire to come out of their shells and express themselves by playing cricket.
Women's cricket has to be given some time to flourish, and not just our authorities but the entire nation has to show them support to go ahead -- now is the time to build our women cricketers for the future -- who knows, one day, we might see them competing head to head against the big powers: India, Australia, England, New Zealand and so on.
The so-called Tigers (Bangladesh Men's cricket team) have failed to live up to their expectations, we can only hope our new tigresses step up the gear and placate our heart that their male-counterparts have failed to do till now.
Nasih Ul Wadud Alam
Student of the Department of English
East West University, Bangladesh
The Wealth of Our Country
Culture reflects a country's values and it also enriches the wealth of a nation.
Unfortunately, we have failed to realise the worth of our culture. It is really disheartening that we haven't been able to pay respect to our culture in its true and proper sense. There is no denying of the fact that our culture is losing its identity. The disrespect that we usually show will eventually lead our culture to disappear. The enormous influence of Hindi songs and cinemas on our young generation is hampering the rich quality of our culture. The International Mother Language Day reflects the love that the people of this country and it is also the symbol of the fight and the sacrifice which millions of people had to make to give Bangla its rightful place. We all have to make an utmost effort to raise awareness about the significance and importance of our culture among the children of our country. All we need is the genuine love on or part for our culture which can put an end to such problems once and for all.
A special thanks to SWM for doing such a wonderful job of reflecting people's thoughts, ideas and opinions.
Tasneem Khaled
South Khulshi, Chittagong
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