While the Muslim world celebrates the holiday, thousands of workers in Bangladesh are waiting for back pay from April. After Beijing, Dhaka is the world's second largest producer, employing 4.4 million workers, 60% of whom are women. Management continues to fail to meet its obligations.The frustration of the unions: ‘Every year it's the same scenario. How can we celebrate with our families?’ 

To mark Menstrual Hygiene Day, which falls today, Sister Gomes, principal of Holy Cross College in Dhaka, issued an appeal for a collective commitment to menstrual hygiene. In Bangladesh, social taboos, poverty and lack of educational facilities continue to exclude thousands of girls from a safe and dignified menstrual management.

The main opposition party – but also the military and the international community – are urging the interim head of government to set a clear “roadmap” for elections in December. After threatening to resign, in a country in a deep crisis, Yunus will meet all political groups in what promises to be a crucial step in the post-Hasina period.

Nusrat Faria was detained at the airport as she prepared to board a flight to Thailand. She is accused of financing the crackdown on last summer’s student protests. Seventeen other well-known figures from the film industry are also implicated. According to director Farooki, an advisor in the current interim government, the arrest follows public outrage after other Awami League leaders fled the country.

The Election Commission has suspended the registration of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party over allegations of crimes against humanity after her government cracked down on student protests last summer. The current head of government, Muhammad Yunus, has delayed the vote, while Jamaat-e-Islami and Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh National Party are putting pressure for an early poll.

The interim government commission led by Yunus is drafting laws to promote “equal opportunities” in inheritance, labor, and family matters. For fundamentalists, these proposals “hurt religious sentiments.” The fight for rights continues among political parties and civil society, against the backdrop of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s return to the country.