South Asia
Women’s stories, reporting, leadership and perspectives connected to South Asia.
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100 published stories
Runa Khan Spent 25 Years Taking Services Where Roads Couldn’t Reach. Asia Just Recognised Her Leadership
Friendship founder and executive director Runa Khan has received the 2026 Ramon Magsaysay Award for building systems that bring healthcare, education, livelihoods and climate resilience to some of Bangladesh’s hardest-to-reach communities.
With ‘Noakhailla Maiya’, Oyshee Turns Her Regional Identity Into Pop-Culture Power
National Film Award-winning singer Fatima Tuz Zahra Oyshee’s new song brings Noakhali dialect into a contemporary musical setting while expanding her role from performer to songwriter and composer.
Bangladesh Media Award Is Looking for Journalism and Creative Work That Challenges Gender Stereotypes
Journalists, producers and creative professionals in Bangladesh have until September 10 to submit gender-sensitive reporting, entertainment content, drama and advertising for the Shomotay Tarunno Media Award 2026.
Bangladesh Women-Led NGOs Can Apply for Up to $50,000 in Flexible Climate-Resilience Funding
A new Resilience Fund round is offering women- and non-binary-led community organisations in Bangladesh two-year grants of US$15,000–$50,000. Unlike many donor calls, the funding is unrestricted and does not require applicants to invent a new standalone project.
Beauty Rani Paul Was Judged Online for a Reel. Sylhet Has Now Judged Her on Teaching
Two months after a simple Facebook video triggered trolling, moral policing and calls for punishment, Beauty Rani Paul has been named Sylhet district’s best headteacher. Education officials say the selection was based on teaching, school management and work with students—not her social-media controversy.
Yasmin Mushtari Is Judging the Next Generation—and Archiving the One That Came Before
Veteran Nazrul singer Yasmin Mushtari has joined singer Sumi Sharmin as a judge for a Bangladesh Shishu Academy competition. Mushtari’s own digital archive, launched in 2025, adds another layer to the story: women artists are not only making culture, but increasingly taking responsibility for preserving their own record
A New WASH Partnership Targets Tea Gardens. For Women Workers, Toilets Are Health Infrastructure
City Bank and Oxfam have launched a climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene initiative for underserved tea-garden communities, with a specific focus on women and girls. The partnership is welcome; the real test will be safe water, usable toilets and menstrual dignity where women actually live and work
Women Domestic Workers Know Their Rights Better. Only 28% Have Written Employment Arrangements
A seven-year Oxfam programme reports a major rise in rights awareness and wage-negotiation ability among women domestic workers. Yet written employment arrangements remain uncommon, showing the distance between knowing a right and being able to enforce it inside somebody else’s home.
Mariam Became a Public Scandal Before She Became a Public Safety Question
Nineteen-year-old Mariam Khatun spent months being discussed as a powerful MP’s “second wife” after private footage went viral. After her death and an ongoing abetment investigation, Bangladesh should examine a harder question: when a young woman is caught inside a relationship with a far more powerful man, who asks what she wants, whether she feels safe and whether she can speak freely
Second- and Third-Year Female Undergraduates Can Apply to Aarong’s Six-Month ElevateHER Mentorship
Aarong’s new ElevateHER programme will pair female university students with organisational leaders for six months of mentoring, learning and professional exposure. Applications close on 24 September—and the official call describes this as mentorship, not a paid internship.
Pregnancy Emergency on a Moving Launch: How One 999 Call Helped a Woman Reach Hospital
A pregnant woman developed severe labour pain while travelling on a Dhaka-bound launch. One passenger’s call to 999 set off a coordinated rescue involving the Coast Guard and River Police—and offers an important reminder for families about what to do when a pregnancy emergency happens far from a hospital
Five Months Ago, Bangladesh Women Had Never Played a Senior Hockey International. Tomorrow They Enter the Asian Games
Bangladesh’s women’s hockey team will make its Asian Games debut against China on Sunday. Their route there began only in April, when Arpita Pal captained the country’s first senior international campaign and helped turn three matches into historic qualification.
Bangladesh Trained 46,248 Women in Skills Including ICT and Freelancing. The Better Question Is Who Got Paid
The ASSET project reports that 13,895 women have confirmed employment or self-employment after vocational training. That outcome-focused reporting is useful—but Bangladesh still needs to show how women in ICT and freelancing specifically convert digital skills into sustainable income.
Rubaiyat Hossain Takes Bangladesh’s Beauty Rules Into Horror—and Toronto Audiences Are Responding
The Difficult Bride is using psychological horror, folklore and the body to examine marriage, beauty standards and women’s freedom. After Venice, Rubaiyat Hossain’s latest film has sold out its Toronto screenings and is now moving on to London and Chicago.
Equal Pay Begins With Knowing What the Payslip Actually Says
Garment workers in Gazipur marked International Equal Pay Day through a street drama they wrote and performed themselves. The discussion moved beyond slogans to salary structures, overtime, payslips and wage calculations—the details through which unfair pay can become visible.
Bedey Women Keep Families Earning. Healthcare Still Struggles to Reach Them
Women in Bangladesh’s historically marginalised Bedey communities often carry both earning and caregiving responsibilities while facing early marriage, repeated pregnancy, poor sanitation and weak access to formal healthcare. Mobile communities need healthcare designed around how they actually live.
Should a Kabinnama Tell You About a Future Spouse’s Previous Marriage and Children? The High Court Wants an Answer
Bangladesh’s High Court has asked authorities to explain why Kabinnamas should not require both bride and groom to disclose previous and existing marriages, children and official identification. The proposal could strengthen informed consent—but no form has changed yet.
If Women Have to Stop Drinking Water Before Leaving Home, the City Is Not Designed for Them
A new four-city investigation finds that women are rationing water because public toilets are too few, dirty or unsafe. Sanitation is not simply a hygiene issue—it determines how long women can work, travel, shop and occupy public space.
BRAC Bank Wins an ADB Women-in-Business Award. The More Important Number Is Who Gets Capital
ADB has named BRAC Bank its 2026 Women in Business Champion, recognising the bank’s TARA proposition and women-entrepreneur financing ecosystem. Awards are useful—but gender-inclusive banking ultimately has to be measured in customers, credit, business growth and women’s ownership.
Women Hold Nearly Half of Agent-Banking Accounts. They Own Barely One in Nine Agents
Women’s participation in Bangladesh’s agent-banking system is growing rapidly: female-owned agents increased sharply over the last year, and women hold almost half of deposit accounts. But ownership remains far below Bangladesh Bank’s 50% target.
Aparna Ghose Lives in Japan Now. Bangladesh Still Lives Inside Her Creative Identity
Two-time National Film Award winner Aparna Ghose now teaches in Japan, years after building a career across theatre, television and cinema. Her story complicates a familiar assumption: moving abroad does not erase a woman’s artistic identity—or the country that helped form it.
Sajeda Built a 2,500-Duck Farm and Now Earns Around Tk50,000 a Month. Rural Women Need More Routes Like Hers
Women in Rangpur, Chuadanga and Rajshahi are turning duck farming into income through livestock knowledge, small investments and NGO or government support. Their progress shows the potential of rural enterprise—but also why training, vaccines, finance and markets must grow with the flock.
BUET Gets a Sanitary-Pad Vending Machine. Menstrual Access Should Be Standard Campus Infrastructure
Female students and staff at BUET’s Materials and Metallurgical Engineering department can now buy sanitary pads through a mobile-payment vending machine. One machine will not solve period poverty—but it shows how universities can make menstruation an ordinary infrastructure issue rather than an emergency women manage privately.
Four Bangladeshi Women Were Rescued From Trafficking. Seven Years Later, Nine People Have Been Sentenced to Life
A Hyderabad court has sentenced nine people—including eight Bangladeshis—to life imprisonment for trafficking Bangladeshi women into India with false job promises and forcing them into prostitution. The verdict is significant; preventing the next journey matters more.
Bangladesh’s Circular Economy Was Already Being Built by Women Sorting Waste. Will They Share the Billions?
Women reportedly make up around 70% of Bangladesh’s garment-waste sorters, doing the manual work that keeps textile scraps in circulation. As formal recycling attracts technology, certification and billions in potential value, a just transition means those workers cannot become disposable.
Bangladesh Fell 55 Places in the Global Gender Gap Ranking. What Changed for Women?
Bangladesh has dropped from 24th to 79th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index in a single year. The headline is dramatic—but the data tell a more complicated story: women’s political representation has fallen sharply, economic participation remains weak, while education continues to move closer to parity.
180 Days Later: Which Promises to Bangladesh’s Women and Girls Are Actually Being Delivered?
Six months into Bangladesh’s new government, a coalition of seven rights and development organisations says there has been progress on education, health and social protection—but significant gaps remain on child marriage, violence, healthcare costs, inclusive services and accountability.
If a Woman Needs to Escape Abuse Tonight, Where Can She Go in Bangladesh?
Bangladesh has laws, helplines, crisis centres and shelters for women escaping violence. But rights advocates say the number of safe places remains far too small—and navigating the system can be difficult precisely when a woman needs help most.
40 Women-Led Businesses Are Coming to One Dhaka Market This Saturday
Dhaka’s W.O.W Market returns on September 19 with around 40 women-led businesses under one roof—giving entrepreneurs something many small businesses struggle to secure: direct access to customers, visibility and new networks.
After 10–0, Bangladesh Improved Against South Korea. The Asian Gap Is Still Clear
Bangladesh reduced the damage from their record defeat to North Korea but still lost 6–0 to South Korea at the Asian Games. Two matches against continental heavyweights have exposed a bigger question: what must change for Bangladesh’s regional success to translate to the highest level in Asia?
200 Women Can Apply for Government Training in Computer Skills, Mobile Repair, Tailoring and More
A current admission notice for the Women Training Academy in Jirani, Gazipur lists 200 places across five three-month vocational courses, including computer applications and mobile-phone servicing. Applications are scheduled to remain open until 30 September.
Nazneen Ahmed’s First Weeks at CPD Put Stability, Jobs and Women’s Access to Finance on the Same Agenda
Newly appointed CPD Executive Director Nazneen Ahmed is warning that Bangladesh’s apparent economic stability remains fragile. In fresh policy interventions, she is linking investment, employment and banking reform with a second problem: financial systems that still underserve women and new entrepreneurs.
Shaheda Mustafiz Was Coding Before Bangladesh Had a Computer-Science Pipeline for Women
Bangladesh’s first woman programmer entered technology when computer science was barely available as a local academic path. Five decades later, her career in banking automation, software exports and women’s technology training offers a reminder: today’s startup ecosystem was built by people working before there was an ecosystem.
A Dhaka Dance Workshop Treats Women’s Bodies as Archives, Not Objects
A feminist dance-theatre workshop opening in Banani on Thursday will ask performers to explore how women carry memory, labour, faith, regulation, conflict and joy through the body. Its premise shifts the female body from something audiences look at to something that remembers and speaks.
Joyee 2.0 Targets the Gap Between Running a Business and Being ‘Loan-Ready’
Eastern Bank and Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center are putting 40 women entrepreneurs through six months of financial management, mentorship and loan-readiness support. The important measure will be what happens after training: finance obtained, businesses formalised and revenue grown.
A 22-Year-Old Student Died of Dengue at Nine Months Pregnant. Bangladesh’s Surge Is Now a Maternal-Health Warning Too
Nur Jahan, a Cumilla college student who was nine months pregnant, died of dengue in Dhaka on Wednesday; her unborn child also died. Her death comes as Bangladesh records its highest daily dengue hospitalisations of 2026.
A Survivor Should Not Need a Map of Institutions to Find Safety
Bangladesh has laws, legal aid, police units, crisis centres and shelters for survivors of abuse. Yet a Dhaka dialogue heard that women and children are still being sent from one institution to another—and that shelter capacity remains severely inadequate.
A New Property Route Could Help Parents Give More to Daughters. It Does Not Make Inheritance Equal
Bangladesh’s newly passed property-transfer amendment lets parents give property to specified family members while retaining lifetime use of it. A legal scholar says the mechanism could help families address unequal outcomes for daughters—but it is a lifetime-gift route, not a reform of inheritance shares.
Lalremsiami’s Asian Games Ambition Begins With a Dirt Pitch in Mizoram
India forward Lalremsiami has turned a barefoot childhood route into an international hockey career and a bid for Asian Games gold. Her longer goal—building facilities for girls in Mizoram—shows why a sporting breakthrough matters most when it widens the path behind it.
Bangladeshi Women Founders Have Two Days Left to Compete for Tara’s Circle’s €100,000 Award Pool
Tara’s Circle 2026 is open worldwide to women founders and co-founders leading seed-stage or MVP-stage impact ventures. Fifteen projects will share €100,000 across health, technology, sustainability, social innovation and creative industries. Applications close 17 September at 12:00 CEST.
Nigar Sultana Joty Wants to Leave T20I Captaincy. Stepping Back Can Be a Leadership Decision Too
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty has told the BCB she wants to give up T20I leadership after the Asian Games while remaining ODI captain, saying she wants greater focus on her batting. The board has not yet accepted the request. Leadership is not only knowing when to take responsibility—it can also mean deciding when a role should change.
Women Entrepreneurs in Chattogram Get a Route Into Alibaba’s Global Marketplace. Listing Products Is Only the Beginning
Chittagong Women Chamber and Springfield Corporation, Alibaba.com’s Bangladesh channel partner, have signed an agreement to connect women entrepreneurs with international buyers and digital-export tools. The opportunity is real—but exporting requires logistics, compliance, pricing and buyer trust beyond simply opening an online account.
Swagata’s Career Makes a Case Against Telling Women Artists to Pick One Lane
Zinat Sanu Swagata has worked across acting, music, modelling and presenting since childhood. A piece of advice from Abdullah Al Mamun helped shape that path: becoming an actor did not mean abandoning directing or music. Her career shows why women’s creative identities do not have to fit one label.
Swagata’s Career Makes a Case Against Telling Women Artists to Pick One Lane
Zinat Sanu Swagata has worked across acting, music, modelling and presenting since childhood. A piece of advice from Abdullah Al Mamun helped shape that path: becoming an actor did not mean abandoning directing or music. Her career shows why women’s creative identities do not have to fit one label.
Bangladeshi Women Spend 5.9 Hours a Day on Unpaid Care. That Is a Labour-Market Policy Problem
Bangladesh’s Time Use Survey says women spend 5.9 hours daily on unpaid care and household work, compared with 0.8 hours for men. A new Dhaka dialogue is calling for care to be recognised, reduced and redistributed. If Bangladesh wants more women earning, childcare infrastructure is economic infrastructure.
Bangladesh Is Taking Midwifery to the UN. The Promise Now Is 25,000 Professionals Where Women Actually Give Birth
Bangladesh and Sweden will co-host a UN General Assembly event on 24 September focused on integrating midwives into primary healthcare. Bangladesh has committed to train and deploy 25,000 midwives by 2030. The global leadership will matter most if the workforce reaches women outside major hospitals.
National University Says Women Need Safer Campuses. Now Bangladesh Needs to Define What ‘Safe’ Actually Means
National University’s vice-chancellor says child marriage, violence and social barriers are pushing girls out before higher education and has called for safer, more supportive campuses and greater female participation in STEM. The next step is turning “safe campus” from a speech into measurable standards.
After a 10–0 Defeat, Maria Manda’s Answer Was Not Excuses. It Was: Get Better
Bangladesh opened its Asian Games women’s football campaign with a 10–0 defeat to DPR Korea. Captain Maria Manda’s response was neither denial nor despair: Bangladesh must keep facing stronger teams, work harder and prepare better. That mindset deserves a system capable of matching it.
Shanchita Haque Put Bangladesh’s Women-Centred Promises on the UN Record. Now They Need Measurable Delivery
Bangladesh’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN has told UN Women that the government is advancing Family Cards in women’s names, free education for girls, reproductive and mental-health services and lifecycle social protection. International commitments matter—but leadership is strongest when the promises can be measured at home.
Bangladesh Opens a Fair With 1,000+ Innovations. Women Innovators Should Not Be Invisible in the Numbers
More than 100 innovators and startup founders are showcasing over 1,000 ideas at Bangladesh Innovation Fair 2026, which opened in Dhaka today. The government wants to move inventions from laboratories to markets. One useful measure of that ecosystem will be whether it tracks who gets investment—including women founders and researchers.
Runa Laila Is Alive. The AI Death Hoax Shows How Easily a Cultural Icon Can Be Turned Into Clickbait
AI-generated videos and images falsely claiming that Runa Laila was dying or dead circulated online this week. Her daughter confirmed the singer is healthy and urged followers to report the accounts. The episode raises a cultural question as much as a technology one: who protects an artist’s identity when anyone can manufacture a convincing false version of her life?
Paisano Marma Started With Tk500. Four Months Later, Her Food Business Had Sold More Than Tk10,000
Indigenous women in Khagrachhari are moving from irregular day labour into small businesses through training, market links and storage facilities. Paisano Marma’s Tk500 start shows why the crucial ingredient is not training alone—it is giving women somewhere to sell afterwards.
110 Women Factory Workers Joined Mental-Health Sessions. Awareness Should Be the First Layer, Not the Whole Safety Net
Psychologists recently held workplace mental-health sessions for 110 women workers in Pabna and Gazipur. Normalising conversations about stress is valuable, but women working under production pressure also need confidential counselling, referral systems and workplaces that reduce—not simply teach them to cope with—psychological strain.
For Girls Rescued From Sexual Exploitation, the Case Does Not End at Rescue
Twenty-five caregivers at Bangladesh’s only government Child Development Centre for girls in Gazipur have received specialised training on supporting children affected by commercial sexual exploitation. That matters because rescue is only the first stage of recovery—and institutions entrusted with girls need to be safe enough to deserve their trust.
One Narail Family Put Four Women on Bangladesh’s Table Tennis Roster. That Is What a Sports Pipeline Can Look Like
Five-time champion Sonam Sultana Soma, Nowrin Sultana Mahi, Sadia Rahman Mou and Samanta Hossain Tushi come from the same extended family. Their rise from a Narail club to the national team shows how girls progress when family support, coaching, training partners and financial backing exist at the same time.
BRICS Women Want Trade Networks That Move Beyond Ceremonial Inclusion
Women business leaders at the BRICS Business Forum called for direct company-to-company links, finance and market access across member states. The practical test is whether summit language produces contracts for women-led firms rather than another parallel network without purchasing power.
Tarash Is Talking Openly About Periods. Bangladesh Still Needs Affordable Products and Private Facilities
Women and adolescent girls in a Sirajganj community joined an open discussion on menstruation this week and received sanitary pads. Awareness helps dismantle stigma—but Bangladesh’s menstrual-health challenge is also about affordability, school facilities, privacy and reliable access to products.
Bangladesh’s Plan Against Online Abuse of Women Just Got More Concrete: Laws, Platforms and Survivor Support
Bangladesh first announced plans for a global platform against digital harassment earlier this month. A new Dhaka Dialogue has now moved the discussion toward legal reform, AI evidence, platform accountability, synthetic-media labelling and survivor-centred reporting systems.
Bangladesh Reached the Asia Cup Semifinal. The Next Level Is Turning Chances Into Pressure
Before facing India, Sharmin Akhter said aspiring champions have to play the strongest teams. Bangladesh’s 40-run semifinal defeat showed exactly what that next level demands: sharper fielding, more batting pressure and fewer opportunities handed back to elite opponents.
Aydha Mehnaz Is Turning Global Luxury Experience Into a New Advisory Business With a Dhaka Footprint
Bangladeshi-French fashion and brand strategist Aydha Mehnaz has launched Avari, an independent advisory group headquartered in New York with plans to strengthen its presence in Dhaka. It is a reminder that startup ecosystems include businesses built around knowledge, strategy and creative intellectual capital—not only software.
Pooja Sengupta Marks 12 Years of Turongomi by Turning Tagore’s Tree Hymn Into a Climate-Era Dance Work
Turongomi marked 12 years with the fifth staging of Dhora Toru Kabyo – Nature’s Tale, conceptualised and directed by Pooja Sengupta. Inspired by Tagore’s Brikkhobandana, the work uses dance to ask what happens when the human relationship with nature becomes exploitation.
BRDB Approves Tk40.2 Lakh for 23 Rural Women Entrepreneurs. Now the Businesses Need to Grow
A new Bangladesh Rural Development Board approval memo lists 23 women in six upazilas receiving Tk40.2 lakh in entrepreneur loans for activities ranging from livestock to small retail. The important next metric is not money approved—it is businesses surviving and generating income.
Tarash Is Talking Openly About Periods. Bangladesh Still Needs Affordable Products and Private Facilities
Women and adolescent girls in a Sirajganj community joined an open discussion on menstruation this week and received sanitary pads. Awareness helps dismantle stigma—but Bangladesh’s menstrual-health challenge is also about affordability, school facilities, privacy and reliable access to products.
Bangladesh’s Plan Against Online Abuse of Women Just Got More Concrete: Laws, Platforms and Survivor Support
Bangladesh first announced plans for a global platform against digital harassment earlier this month. A new Dhaka Dialogue has now moved the discussion toward legal reform, AI evidence, platform accountability, synthetic-media labelling and survivor-centred reporting systems.
Bangladesh Reached the Asia Cup Semifinal. The Next Level Is Turning Chances Into Pressure
Before facing India, Sharmin Akhter said aspiring champions have to play the strongest teams. Bangladesh’s 40-run semifinal defeat showed exactly what that next level demands: sharper fielding, more batting pressure and fewer opportunities handed back to elite opponents.
Last Day: Bangladesh’s Gender-Sensitive Media Award Is Accepting Journalism, Drama and Advertising Until September 10
Journalists, producers and creative professionals have until 10 September to submit eligible work for the Shomotay Tarunno Media Award 2026. Eight categories cover print, television, online journalism, entertainment reporting, drama and advertising, with gender-sensitive representation at the centre of judging.
Saima Wazed Resigns From WHO Regional Role After Committee Recommends Her Removal
Saima Wazed has resigned as WHO South-East Asia Regional Director after the regional committee recommended terminating her appointment. WHO has raised misconduct allegations that Wazed denies, while she says the organisation prevented her from performing her duties. For leadership, representation and accountability have to coexist.
Bangladesh’s ‘Missing Daughter’ Is Back—with a National Programming Contest Built Only for Girls
Bangladesh Open Source Network has revived its Missing Daughter initiative with the Bangladesh Girls Programming Contest 2026, giving school, college, polytechnic and university girls a dedicated route from preliminary rounds to a national final in Dhaka.
Why Can a Male Character Be Dangerous While a Woman Is Condemned for Being Difficult?
A fresh Bangladeshi pop-culture commentary asks why audiences routinely give morally compromised men narrative complexity while women are punished for being annoying, ambitious or unwilling to please. Bangladesh’s own celebrity culture shows the double standard does not stop with fictional characters.
WHO Says Bangladesh Has Crossed a Maternal-Mortality Milestone. It Is Not the Finish Line
WHO has recognised Bangladesh for bringing maternal mortality below the Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality benchmark of 140 deaths per 100,000 live births. That is substantial progress—but it should not be confused with the global SDG target of fewer than 70.
A 16-Year-Old Was Chained and Dragged Over a Theft Allegation. An Accusation Is Not Permission to Punish a Child
Three men have been arrested after a 16-year-old girl was allegedly beaten, chained around the waist and dragged through a Sylhet street over a theft allegation. Bangladesh law allows limited citizen detention in specific circumstances—it does not authorise public punishment.
Rumeen Farhana Criticised the Government. Parliament Erupted. Her Right to Be Heard Should Not Depend on Agreement
Independent MP Rumeen Farhana’s criticism of the government over energy shortages, loan defaults and banking policy triggered loud protests from ruling-party lawmakers. In a parliament where only seven women won constituency seats, protecting substantive disagreement matters for women’s political voice as much as representation itself.
Bangladesh’s Banks Are Hiring More Women Again. Why Are So Few Reaching the Top?
Bangladesh’s banks added 910 women employees in the first half of 2026. But women still make up just 16.5% of the banking workforce—and only around one in ten senior-level employees. New central bank data suggest that hiring women is only part of the challenge.
India’s First Endometriosis Genome Study Adds South Asian Data—but No Diagnostic Test
Researchers found 21 suggestive genetic regions in Indian women with surgically confirmed endometriosis. The work starts to correct an ancestry gap in research, but the signals are not ready to diagnose disease or predict any woman’s risk.
Three Afghan Sisters Keep Studying After Deportation Closed Every Official Door
Maahi, Shallah and Fatimah were expelled from Iran into a country where the Taliban bars girls from secondary school and women from university. Their unofficial lessons in Herat show both the determination of Afghan girls and the cost of policies that refuse to recognise their education.
# Stopping One Wedding Isn’t Enough: Why Bangladesh’s Child-Marriage Fight Has to Change What Families Believe
A new Bangladesh campaign is taking aim at something harder to change than the law: the social beliefs that continue to make child and forced marriage seem acceptable, necessary or even protective for girls
Women Outnumber Men in Bangladesh’s Asian Games Team. So Why Are So Few Coaches and Officials Women?
Bangladesh will send more women than men to the 2026 Asian Games—a striking sign of how far women athletes have progressed. But behind the athletes, the gender balance changes dramatically: just 12 of the contingent’s 73 coaches and officials are women.
India’s Food-Label Fight Turns on a Two-Nutrient Loophole
: Health advocates have asked India’s Supreme Court to reject warning-label rules that may leave a high-sugar product unmarked unless another nutrient also exceeds limits. The case will test whether front-of-pack labels communicate a real risk or merely the appearance of regulation.
Bangladeshi Women Should Not Need a Deadline for Marriage
A new first-person essay from a Bangladeshi university teacher describes the relentless questions unmarried women face about age, appearance and marriage. The deeper issue is not whether women marry—it is why society continues to treat marriage as a deadline against which a woman’s life is measured.
A Child-Marriage Film Project Claims a Big Attitude Shift—Now It Needs Open Evidence
Far Too Young says film-led community work across Bangladesh, India and Nepal changed attitudes toward child marriage and can reach 100 million people. Narrative tools may scale where field budgets are shrinking, but the project’s striking impact claim needs independent publication.
Bangladesh Women Face Sri Lanka With a Semifinal Place—and a Bigger Goal—on the Line
Bangladesh’s women face defending champions Sri Lanka tonight knowing a victory could secure their place in the Women’s Asia Cup semifinals. But for Nigar Sultana Joty’s side, the ambition is bigger: after repeatedly reaching the last four, they want to finally return to the final.
Women Make Up More Than Half of Bangladesh’s Garment Workforce. Why Aren’t More Leading the Unions?
Bangladesh’s labour movement is calling for more women in trade-union leadership. With women making up about 54% of the garment workforce, the question is no longer simply whether women work—it is whether they have an equal voice when wages, safety and workplace rights are negotiated.
PCOS Has a New Name: What Women Should Know About PMOS
A condition millions of women know as PCOS is now being called Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, or PMOS. The new name does not mean your previous diagnosis was wrong—it is intended to better reflect what the condition actually does throughout the body.
Seven Goals, One Statement: Bangladesh’s Young Women Open Junior Asia Cup in Style
Bangladesh’s U-20 women’s hockey team began its Junior Asia Cup campaign with a commanding 7–0 victory over Chinese Taipei. Beyond the scoreline, the result comes at an important moment for a sport trying to build a stronger pathway for Bangladeshi girls.
When Political Criticism Turns Gendered: Oli Ahmad’s Remarks on Rizwana Hasan Raise a Wider Question
A senior political leader’s derogatory remarks about Syeda Rizwana Hasan went beyond disagreement over politics, targeting her as a woman and questioning her religious beliefs. The episode points to a wider challenge facing women in Bangladesh’s public life.
Bangladesh’s Women Have Saved Seeds for Generations. Could Orange Bonds Help Them Build Businesses?
More than 3,000 Bangladeshi women farmers have established community seed enterprises and seed banks through IRRI-supported programmes, but many remain too small to scale. A new analysis asks whether gender-focused Orange Bond financing could help women-led seed businesses access the working capital they need.
Bangladesh Signs a Global Women-in-Sport Commitment. Now Athletes Need to See What Changes
Bangladesh has formally joined the Brighton and Helsinki Declaration on Women and Sport, committing to stronger equality, participation, representation and safety for women in sport. The real test now is whether those principles lead to better facilities, stronger safeguarding, more leadership roles and fairer investment for female athletes.
They Told Fatema Surfing Wasn’t for Girls. At 17, She’s Taking Bangladesh to the Asian Games
Seventeen-year-old surfer Fatema Akter from Cox’s Bazar is heading to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after six years of training through criticism, financial pressure and limited preparation opportunities. Her journey shows both how far Bangladeshi girls can go—and how much more support they still need.
Six-Year-Old Ayesha’s Body Exhumed as Questions Over Her Death Return to Investigators
The body of six-year-old Ayesha Akter has been exhumed in Homna, Cumilla, 17 days after her death, following a court order for a fresh autopsy. Her father has alleged possible sexual assault and murder, but police say the cause of death remains undetermined and must be established through medical evidence and investigation.
249 Women and Children Faced Violence in August. Nearly Six in 10 Reported Rape Victims Were Children
Human Rights Support Society recorded violence against at least 249 women and children across Bangladesh in August, including 79 reported rape victims. Forty-six of those rape victims were children—nearly 58%—according to the organisation’s monthly monitoring.
Final Days: 23 Women Artists Refuse to Let Suffering Define Womanhood in ‘Lobongolotika’
A major group exhibition at Edge Gallery brings together 23 women artists to explore autonomy, imagination, desire, joy and creative power—challenging the idea that women’s strength must always be defined through suffering or sacrifice.
A New Tournament Will Give 37 Grassroots Women’s Football Academies Something They Need: Matches
Thirty-seven women’s football academies from across Bangladesh are set to compete in a new nationwide tournament beginning with regional knockout rounds and ending in Dhaka, creating something grassroots players often lack: regular competitive exposure and a clearer route toward elite football.
Women’s Hockey Drive Opens in Khagrachhari With a Focus on Talent Beyond the Big Cities
A new grassroots women’s hockey development programme has begun in Khagrachhari, with Bangladesh Hockey Federation and BRAC Bank aiming to bring more girls and women—particularly from the hill districts—into organised sport and long-term hockey development.
Bangladesh Plans Bicycles for Secondary Schoolgirls. The Next Question Is Who Gets One—and When
Bangladesh’s education minister has announced a plan to distribute bicycles to secondary-school girls nationwide to encourage female education. The proposal could reduce transport barriers for students, but key details—including budget, eligibility, rollout date and total coverage—have not yet been published.
Four More Children Die as Bangladesh’s Measles Crisis Pushes Combined Toll to 983
Four more children have died with measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh, taking the combined number of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 983. Of those deaths, 99 are laboratory-confirmed and 884 remain classified as suspected, according to DGHS data.
Dhaka University Gives Women One More Hour. Students Are Asking Why They Need a Curfew at All
Dhaka University has extended the closing time of women’s residential halls from 10pm to 11pm after weeks of student protests. But campaigners are still demanding 24-hour access, arguing that women should not have less freedom of movement than male students in the name of safety.
A Fifth-Grader Spoke Up. Now a Rangpur Teacher Is Suspended
An assistant teacher at a government primary school in Gangachara has been suspended after a Class Five student alleged sexually inappropriate behaviour during class. Other female students have since reportedly raised similar concerns, while authorities say a formal investigation is underway.
Bangladesh Calls Them E-Services. 68% of Women Still Face an Offline Step
A new Centre for Policy Dialogue study finds that only 31.9% of surveyed women could complete government e-services entirely online. For the remaining 68.1%, at least part of the process still required paperwork or offline interaction—raising questions about whether Bangladesh’s digital public services are truly designed around women’s lives.
Murders and Gang Rapes of Women and Children Rose in August, Rights Monitor Warns
A human-rights monitor recorded a sharp rise in some of the most severe forms of violence against women and children in Bangladesh in August, including 91 murders and 12 gang rapes. The figures come from rights-group monitoring rather than a complete national crime database, but the month-to-month increase has raised fresh concerns over safety and accountability.
Deadline Tomorrow: BRAC University Programme Offers Women Entrepreneurs Training and Seed-Money Opportunity
Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs have until August 31 to apply for Venture Maestras — Udyomi Ami, a BRAC University programme offering business training, mentoring, an industry visit and a boot camp, with seed-money opportunities of up to Tk100,000 for top participants.