Star Diary

LOOKING FOR A CURE

We have treated depression as a very low standard of neurosis. Especially teenage depression. Being a former patient, I know how hard it is to deal with. There are a lot of cases of teenage depression in our country but seldom have the parents treated this as some kind of a phase. Recently a person I know committed suicide as a result of depression. Like my friend, there are a lot of children and even adults who deal with this. So using this platform I urge all parents, teachers and others to not take this lightly.
Fariha Mansur
Dhaka

ARE WE REALLY THERE YET?

Just a couple of days back, a friend was talking about her "eligible for marriage" sister whom the potential groom's family was about to "see" that evening. What bothered me was that the groom-to-be lives abroad and won't even be present during the first meeting. His parents were just coming to see whether my friend's sister would make a good wife to their son or not. How can you know a person in one meeting when it comes to making such a life altering decision. On another occasion, I was talking to someone about a common friend who was "looking" for a girl. I imagined a market place where I was looking for a fresh, shiny fruit. Even though we talk about equality, we are still ages behind when it comes to treating women equally to men. I am not asking girls to adopt the same method to "look" for the perfect match. It's about having the right to take one's life in their own hands. It's the 21st century; we talk about equality and gloat about having a female leader. And yet, we end up with disheveled faces struggling to fight for female rights in a land of non-emphatisers. These stories will probably not be taken as seriously, but it shows the mentality and attitude of our general people. It shows how women are still being showcased to the world like a product in a shop, waiting to be chosen by people who think that they are "right" for them.
Fabiha Tanzeem
Purana Paltan, Dhaka