Canada Bangladesh Social Justice Action Research Alliance

Canada Bangladesh Social Justice Action Research Alliance is organizing a critical discussion on Bangladesh's culture of classism tomorrow at 8 p.m. Dhaka time with Professor Manosh Chowdhury (Jahangirnagar University) and Professor Nadine Shaanta Murshid (University of Buffalo, USA). We'd love to have you join us and be part of this critical conversation.

"In an era wherein anyone can produce content, where the markets decide what is good and what is not, as demonstrated by their monetary and click commitments, what does it mean to have the police come down on a single content producer simply because it grates on hegemonic middle-class sensibilities?

It means middle-class membership is not merely economic – it is cultural. And lest we forget, anyone who defies the cultural norms set by a bygone era of middle-class educated elites must be reprimanded. It means Hero Alom may (or may not) have economic capital, but he does not have the social and cultural capital that one must have to be allowed to sing Tagore's songs. They are only to be sung by representatives of middle-class secular families who had ostadjis at home, those who know how to sing his songs with reverence of a particular kind." — Professor Nadine Shaanta Murshid

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LIVELIHOOD OF HIJRA AND TRANS COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES We are pleased to announce our next critical conversation focusing on the livelihoods of Transgender and Hijra communities in South Asia. We are delighted to...

We are pleased to announce our next critical conversation focusing on the livelihoods of Transgender and Hijra communities in South Asia. We are delighted to have three distinguished South Asian panelists from the trans and hijra community— Ali Asgar Tara, Joya Sikder, and Sumi Das— for the upcoming conversation. Bonna Mirza Apa will host the discussion. The socioeconomic and political empowerment of transgender and hijra communities requires us to understand what marginalizes them in the South Asian context. Although, some degrees of government recognition for the rights of transgender and hijra communities have taken place in recent years. However, we need to critically examine the political economy of rights for trans and hijra communities to see beyond the rhetorics. More importantly, we need to engage in courageous conversations to explore donor interest-driven optics and measured mobilization for rights under a neoliberal paradigm to perpetuate the philanthropic industrial complex by NGOs and INGOs.

We need to recognize how the history of colonial policies, development projects, and macroeconomic reforms have impacted transgender communities in South Asia. We need to examine how global institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and national governments have changed their policies, practices, and discourses on gender, sexuality, and violence in recent years to analyze the livelihood of trans and hijra communities critically. We need to look at how these changes have affected trans and hijra communities' access to public infrastructure, services, and welfare programs. You are cordially invited to join this critical conversation.

UNDERSTANDING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND R**E OF MEN BY WOMEN Can a woman r**e a man, and why does this question even matter? Professor Siobhan Weare (Lancaster University, UK) will join us to answer these difficult que...

Can a woman r**e a man, and why does this question even matter? Professor Siobhan Weare (Lancaster University, UK) will join us to answer these difficult questions. You might remember the recent news report of Bangladeshi actor Avi, who was sexually assaulted by a woman at a Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center. Our legal framework in Bangladesh is yet to be revised to address sexual violence against young boys and men. Sexual violence against men is significantly understudied in the Bangladeshi context. Professor Wear published her ground-breaking paper that studied the physical and emotional impacts reported by men forced to pe*****te women in the UK. You are welcome to join our conversation and ask your questions.

Watch this episode on youtube with link: https://youtu.be/wJ24tCnx970

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Prominent Bangladeshi theater director and scholar Dr. Syed Jamil Ahmed will join us in a critical conversation to discuss the future of theatre and its potential to create critical consciousness to resist oppression. Many revolutionary theatre practitioners like Augusto Boal believed that theater itself might not be revolutionary, but it is a rehearsal for the revolution.

Boal was a prominent Brazilian Marxist theatre practitioner and author of "Theatre of the Oppressed." He was a vocal critique of classical and bourgeois theatre. Boal believed that the dominant art is the art of the ruling class, who control the means to disseminate art. The ruling class, and dominant groups in other situations of oppression, thus impose their values by force.

Boal wanted the working class to reclaim theatre and use it to develop the critical consciousness required to realize their subjugated position in a capitalist society. One might argue that theatre as a political space has gone through a seachange due to digital technologies. But, can the theatre live up to Boal's expectations under neoliberal digital capitalism? Professor Syed Jamil Ahmed will help us think about these critical questions and provocations on March 9 at 9 PM Dhaka time.

My upcoming guest Dr. Nadine Shaanta Murshid and I will engage in discussion about the recent digitalization of microfinance in the Bangladeshi context. We will critically assess the impacts of unprecedented growth of fintech on the global South under neoliberal digital capitalism. Digital tools are double-edged swords, and using them uncritically can further marginalize the vulnerable population. We need to think critically about how various types of digitalization are impacting different stakeholders. You are invited to join us and be part of this discussion.

Watch this episode on youtube with link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlp7zfmBszs

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To get a reminder before the discussion, please click on "Receive Reminder" option in the following event link: https://www.facebook.com/112564010424826/posts/475005700847320/

Powerful digital technologies like artificial intelligence can be used against vulnerable people, and there are plenty of examples. Please listen to my upcoming guest Dr. Petra Molnar is in this video and you will understand. Dr. Molnar is the Acting Director of the Faculty of Law's International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto. Dr. Molnar is a lawyer specializing in migration, human rights, and technology. We have repeatedly heard the tragic stories of Bangladeshi migrants drowning in the Mediterranean trying to enter Europe. We know very little about how artificial intelligence and other surveillance technologies are often used to monitor some of the most vulnerable populations worldwide, like refugees creating open-air prisons. Dr. Molnar and I will discuss (tentatively on February 17 at 9 PM Bangladesh time) how the surveillance mechanism has heightened amid a global pandemic, especially in the global South. You are welcome to join our discussion.

Watch this episode on youtube with link: https://youtu.be/eaFAHHRRR8Q

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We often hear about artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data. The tech narrative pendulum swings from dystopian horror to techno-utopia when it comes to the usage of exponential technologies like AI and Big Data. My upcoming guest Farhana Hasan Apa will share her expertise on how these powerful technologies can be used for our progress in the Bangladeshi context. We will also discuss the things we need to be perpetually vigilant about when it comes to their misuse. You are invited to join our discussion.



Watch this episode on youtube with link: https://youtu.be/2mbUf9iTscU

Other socials:

CBSJARA page: https://www.facebook.com/cbsjara

CBSJARA Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCamF2iYsRd-9Tyy2tyZdgHA/videos

CBSJARA on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/cbsjara

To get reminder before event goes live, click on "Receive reminder": https://www.facebook.com/112564010424826/posts/472658351082055/