pass the roti on the left hand side

 I don't know Bangladeshi political history well enough to evaluate the arguments, but as a primer on Bangladesh, it's well written, readable, and worth taking a glance at.  The news hook is that the Bangladeshi Supreme Court recently upheld a 5-year-old decision banning the use of religion in politics.

Additionally, I've been meaning to put a plug in for the source, Newsline, which is among the best publications I've seen out of Pakistan - if not South Asia - in a while.   Take a browse around.

The emancipation of women is often linked to the progress of a society in transformation from a feudal society to a modern state. The story of women in the country that became Pakistan can indeed be told in such terms: as part of a struggle for advancement with education at its centre, and linked at critical moments to wider goals of national emancipation and social reform.