Dhaka

Healthcare for the homeless in Dhaka

On the streets of Dhaka you'll find many like Sriti, crouched by her precious shanty, packing up the single blanket she and her mother use to make a tent at night. They cannot leave this behind as they set out to beg for the day because of the government's law against informal settlements on sidewalks. There are 3.5 million slum-dwellers in Dhaka, and thousands more who are undocumented and homeless, lacking the resources even to live in slums. This extreme poverty leaves them without assets or services to call their own. While the government tries to confine slum dwellers within certain areas of the city, these travelling homeless, living hand to mouth, find themselves unwanted, without support, and in crisis. The most acute crisis is that of access to basic healthcare. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Editor — Mon, 03/11/2013 - 01:00

Sexual harassment in public transportation

In crowded urban areas such as Dhaka, public transportation is essential for everyday life. Unfortunately, this public transportation has also become one of the main sites for sexual harassment, referred to as eve teasing in Bangladesh. Shanta, a university student, comments that as sexual harassment is increasing on public buses, most school and college aged girls prefer to travel in school buses instead of public buses. Some of the colleges and schools do not have their own transportation, however, forcing many girls to use taxis instead of buses; these taxis are far more costly and not affordable for everyone. Those who cannot afford taxis are forced to travel in public buses facing the threat of sexual harassment daily. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Editor — Mon, 03/04/2013 - 00:00

$22 making a difference in child labor

Five-year-old Shima is on the bottom rung in the human ecosystem of the sprawling slum habitat clinging to the banks of Buriganga. She squats outside the door of a bhangari shop, a shop which sorts out waste for recycling, sifting through the thick black riverside muck for miniscule bits of copper fiber. Her elder brother, Noyon, the proud holder of a "proper job," spends twelve hours a day as a bhangari, snapping off needles from used syringes. For these children, it is only $15 that makes a difference between a secure future, and the perils of their occupation. This is why Selim, a child laborer working as a ragpicker, happily said yes to UNICEF's cash-transfer program, which allocates $22 worth of grants to him every month. Read more or join the discussion.

Submitted by Editor — Mon, 02/25/2013 - 00:00

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