Today marks the National Legal Aid Day, which was introduced by the government in January 2013, in an effort to increase public awareness of national legal aid services.

Although we frequently hear calls for justice whenever a grievous crime takes place, the role of public prosecutors, i.e. the very individuals who conduct criminal cases in court on behalf of the state, is seldom—if ever—discussed.

Whenever a violent crime like gang rape or custodial torture takes place, we are quick to demand justice for it.

On November 11, 2021, Mosammat Kamrunnahar, judge of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 7 in Dhaka, reportedly asked the police “to refrain from receiving a case if a rape victim comes to the police station after 72 hours of the incident” since “semen cannot be traced after 72 hours.”

Today, October 8, marks three months since the deadly Hashem Foods fire, which claimed the lives of at least 54 people. Out of those killed, at least 17 were children. Out of these 17 children, at least 11 were girls.

What were you doing on a Thursday morning when you were 14?

For almost 24 hours last week, the Hashem Food factory in Naryanganj, where hundreds of workers are employed, was up in flames.

Fifty two workers have so far been declared dead as a result of the horrific fire that engulfed the Hashem Foods factory in Narayanganj, where famous products such as Shezan juice and Nocilla spread were produced.

On June 30, 2021, the law minister announced in Parliament that the government will finally be introducing legislation to remove Section 155(4) of the Evidence Act 1872—which has long allowed defence lawyers to raise questions about a rape complainant’s character, and therefore moral police them in the name of cross examination in court.