Being unaware of your rights is as good as not having any by Raeed Abd-Allah Chowdhury After getting married, Bilkis was emotionally and physically abused by her in-laws for not bringing in enough dowry. The law in Bangladesh criminalizes the extraction of dowry from...
Narrated by: Bipasha Khatun, Friendship Medical Assistant at Balukhali 1 at the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar National (FDMN) camps in Ukhiya: I came across a little girl who was helping the medical assistants usher in patients. Named Sadia, this 7-year-old was also...
Momota has been married for over 10 years, and lives with her husband and two sons on a riverine island (char) called Khockhali in Gaibandha district. Even though it has been quite some time, Momota has yet to receive her mehr (dower), a mandatory payment from the...
Rani, meaning queen in Bangla, lives up to her namesake. She was the oldest among her siblings in the remote village of Radhabalabh, 28 km from the nearest district town. At the age of 15, Josna Rani’s family married her off to a day labourer; being forced to do so...
When Chandra was a girl, she lived in a char (riverine island) so remote that she did not have any access to education. In her village there were no schools, or even opportunities to learn in an informal setting. She lived most of her life without even knowing how to...
Twelve-year-old Akhi is a student at one of Friendship’s secondary schools. She is one of five children in a family living in the chars of Bangladesh. Since her mother stays at home to take care of the house and children, the burden of earning household income...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTaWRBQef6g Results time has traditionally been a time for celebrations at Friendship schools, since our students are used to outperforming their peers around the country in spite of their relatively underprivileged circumstances. “The...
Artwork by 10-year-old Samima, student of a Friendship Learning Centre in the Rohingya refugee camps. Building people with character is core to strengthening the future of our planet by Claire Hamid Many of us learn ethics simply through the inevitable turbulence of...
Friendship paralegal in Gaibandha fights for a 12-year-old girl to give her exam and stay in school by Naushad Ali Husein It’s exam day for the grade fivers. The exam centre buzzes with activity as students arrive and prepare to take the test. As exam time draws near,...
We like what you're wearing! But how's the weather, lately? by Rad Sharar bin Kamal The extreme heat of the summer gave no pause to the managers of the global fashion industry, despite climate change popping up on headlines worldwide. Once the heat subsided, shelves...