Hana Shams Ahmed

by Hana Shams Ahmed
[Daily Star, May 3, 2008]

Two weeks ago there was a shocking news report about the brutal murder of a 56-year-old writer. The 23-year-old murderer was a nephew of the woman, and reports allege that he was a drug addict and came to his aunt looking for money. When he was refused, he went ballistic and murdered her. The whole incident was witnessed from the beginning by one person– an eight-year-old girl, called Momota. News cameras caught her describing in gory detail every step of the murder, and finally the murderer running away and warning the girl of dire consequences if she spoke about it to anyone.

How is Momota related to anyone in the house? She’s not. She used to work as a ‘bandha’ (derogatory term for full-time employment) maidservant of the house. Read the rest of this entry »

by Hana Shams Ahmed
[Daily Star Cover Story, May 4, 2007]

A typical middle-class family employs a single homeworker (varying from age anywhere from 10 to 40, mostly women and girls) who is responsible for all the work in the house. She has to wake up earliest in the morning and prepare breakfast for everyone in the house and also the Tiffin for the school-going children of the house. She has to get the children ready for school. Then she has to clean the furnsiture and sweep the whole house and wash the clothes. After which she has to cut and clean the raw food for preparing lunch. Sometimes she has to clean the toilets. After everyone in the house has had lunch and she has completed eating whatever leftover that has been handed down to her she has to clean the dishes. Read the rest of this entry »

by Hana Shams Ahmed
[Daily Star, January 12, 2007]

No one has ever been convicted of murdering a home worker.

Five mysterious deaths took place in different parts of the capital city last month. All of the deaths took place in middle and upper-middle class homes of the so-called well-to-do families. And all of the victims were the poor, helpless modern day slaves of our society the silent, overworked and underpaid home workers. The news of their deaths went amazingly unnoticed, taking up little columns of our cold, morning newspapers.
Read the rest of this entry »

FOLLOW UP
by Hana Shams Ahmed
[Daily Star, November 10, 2006]

Madhabi Mala now has something to look forward to. (Photo: Andrew Morris)

About seven weeks ago Madhabi Majhi’s life almost came to an end at the house where she worked as a maid. Her employer, Kalpana Majumder allegedly pushed her and her co-worker Moni Mala from the top of a six-storey building. Fifteen-year-old Moni Mala never lived to tell the series of events that led up to that fateful day. 10-year-old Madhabi was rushed to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR). Read the rest of this entry »

by Hana Shams Ahmed
[Daily Star, October 20, 2006]

The only thing they can look forward to on Eid day is more work.

For most of us, Eid is a fun event. Not only do we get a few days off from work with an extra load in our pocket, we also get to spend some quality time with family and friends who otherwise remain at the other end of numerous missed calls and sms’. Food, shopping, hanging out with family and friends without much to worry about for a few days a year might not seem like such a luxury in the true sense. But for many, even considering something like that is an extravagant thought. They work silently among our midst with no demands and most of them will be spending this Eid without family and friends, working their usual unlimited hours. Read the rest of this entry »

by Hana Shams Ahmed
[Daily Star Cover Story, October 6, 2006]

Madhabi Majhi changed her statement about being pushed from the roof of a six-storied building after her torturer’s sister threatened to kill her.

September 17 began like any other day. The quiet neighbourhood of the residential area in Dhanmondi was still deep in slumber in the early hours of the morning. The numerous schools in every nook and corner were still closed and only a few people were seen walking around groggy-eyed thinking of the day ahead. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Shrieks and screams broke through the early morning air. It was barely six in the morning. The body of a young girl came flying from the rooftop of a house and landed on top of the steel railings of the garage of a neighbouring house. To the horror of bystanders, within moments the body of yet another young girl started falling from the rooftop of the same house, got only momentarily tangled up between the branches of a tree and fell to the ground. Fifteen-year-old Moni Mala died on the spot and 10-year-old Madhabi Majhi was rushed to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in a critical condition. Read the rest of this entry »