Christian and Hindu girls continue to be abducted, raped, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to Muslim men in Pakistan, a phenomenon “Bitter Winter” has repeatedly denounced. This obnoxious practice would not prosper without some complicity by police and courts of law. Some cases do land in courts. But it is not easy for the victims to win them. Sometimes, the victims are treated as if they were the perpetrators. Two cases of this month are of special interest. One concerns Mishal Rasheed, who was 15 when she was abducted at gunpoint on October 25, 2022, and taken to an unknown locality, where she was gang-raped by four men. These rapes are unfortunately customary and serve a specific purpose. It is believed that once no longer a virgin, a girl would become unsuitable for marriage, even if she belongs to a religious minority, and her only choice would be to marry one of her captors. Mishal was then forcibly converted to Islam and married to one of the kidnappers, Abdul Sattar. After six months, Sattar’s brother died and, while everybody in the house was busy with the funeral, Mishal managed to escape and return to her father’s home. They decided to report the kidnappers and rapists to the police. Not only did the officers refuse to investigate, but they also informed Mishal’s captors of what was going on. The girl and her father had to go into hiding for fear of being killed. Now, they went directly to the Lahore High Court, urging it to open a criminal case against Mishal’s captors. It is up to the High Court to decide, but the case is closely watched by activists for the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan. The second case concerns Samreen Aftab, who was abducted on August 22 this year by a young man named Muhammad Amir in the area of Faisalabad. She was immediately forcibly converted to Islam and married to Amir. Her father and six family members, knowing that most probably the police would not act, formed a rescue party and took Samreen back home. Now “they” are the defendants in a court case where Amir qualified their rescue effort as kidnapping. They have been identified by the police and released on pre-arrest bail. Supported by Samreen, they should now defend themselves from the paradoxical charge of being the perpetrators rather than the victims. Meanwhile, the business of kidnapping minority religion girls continues. The whereabouts of another Christian girl, Tabita, daughter of Razzak Mashi, kidnapped by four men on September 29, are still unknown. Her case was reported to the police on October 5, together with a birth certificate proving she is twelve years old, as her captors will probably claim as usual she is really 18. Whether the police will do anything about Tabita is a different question.  Source: BITTER WINTER

Azmeri Haque Badhon, a Popular Bangladeshi actress who received a standing ovation at Cannes last year for her film 'Rehana Marium Noor', says she does not have any plans of getting married in the near future.   Badhon told this to RTV online in a recent conversation. She also shared her latest work and future plans with the RTV online. Here are the highlights of the interview for the readers…..   How is your day going? It's going very well. I learned driving again and got license. Now I can drive directly and learning to swim. I was very busy with these two things. Also gives time to my daughter and family.   Nowadays, you are not visible on screen, why? Yes, I'm not on the screen. Last work was released at the end of January in this year. However, prepare  myself for some specific works. But now I'm busy with OTT platform 'Hoichoi's 'Delta Twenty Fifty One'. some work to do. My daughter is also here. But Badhan won’t go away from acting.   Please say something about your 'Delta Twenty Fifty One' There is nothing to say for now. Same for other works. If any of my work goes anywhere worth talking about—then I'll let you know.   Most of your fans are surprised to see a picture of you on social media. What is the secret of that picture? Badhon (In smiling face): We arrange a family get together. My daughter and her friend's family were also there, to enjoy our daughter's vacation (summer). We went to a wonderful resort named 'Palace' in Habiganj, booked a room before going there, they welcomed me very warmly and saw the bed in my room was decorated with the names of my works, which was a great surprise to me. I am fascinated by such experiences and grateful to them!   Do you have any plans for marriage now? (Chuckling) No plans for marriage now. Because, I am fine as I am. It is Fine to spend time with my child, my life, my own freedom. In that sense, there is no time to think about marriage. If I ever plan I will definitely let you know first.   Any plans to go abroad? No, not yet. We went Netherlands for my father's post-graduation. That time, we traveled so many countries in Europe. Apart from this, I have visited many places in my country. On the other hand, when 'Rehana Mariam Noor' was promoted from Cannes festival, I had to travel many countries. This is something special I like a lot. Traveling abroad has given me a lot of motivation. During Covid, nature was so very beautiful. That trip will be the best memory of my life. That's it for now. Now let's see when, where to go.   Then, we won't see you in TV Drama? I am not saying that I am not interested in Television drama or will be acted as before. But the quality of work is now very important to me. Earning money is also important, in this case promotional work and advertisement are good. However, I am definitely interested in doing web films or short films, web series regularly for OTT. Now I have learned that how important a character is!   You have the experiences to work with the directors of west bengal as well as our directors...Found any Differences? The difference is not much. Everyone tries their best, that's how it seems to work in Bengali. But the experience of working with producer Saad was a little different.   Most of the time you are seen in bold look, many people make bad comments because of this, what do you say about them? Not exactly that, many people fear about my personality. Not only for the look, style of my conversation, walking, thoughts..all are unbearable for them. I see making different comments. Don't want to say anything about them or keep them in my thoughts. I just want to love me, just learned how to love. Try to enjoy my rights, my freedom. If it is not acceptable to anyone, there is nothing in my hand. I want to live in my own way not in anyone's words.  

Lekhak Bhattacharjee, the former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), is going to get married. On Thursday, February 10, at his residence in Eskaton in the capital,  blessings were done in the presence of two families. Yesterday afternoon, a video was posted from the verified Facebook account of former Joint General Secretary of Chhatra League Benjir Hossain Nishi.  Confirming the blessing, Nishi told that the bride's name is Deepa Biswas. She completed her graduation and post graduation from a private university and is working in a private company.

An estimated 115 million boys and men around the world were married as children, according to the first-ever analysis on child grooms, launched on Friday by the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef). Twenty-three million among them married before the age of 15. Using data from 82 countries, the in-depth study brings the overall number estimated child marriages to 765 million, Unicef revealed. “Marriage steals childhood,” said Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “Child grooms are forced to take on adult responsibilities for which they may not be ready.” The study discovered that child marriage among boys spans sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific. According to the data, 28 percent of the males in the Central African Republic were married as children, ranking it first in male child marriages. At 19 percent, Nicaragua was the second and Madagascar the third, at 13 percent. “Early marriage brings early fatherhood, and with it added pressure to provide for a family – cutting short education and job opportunities,” Fore elaborated. Notwithstanding the new information, girls remain disproportionately affected, with 1-in-5 young women between the age of 20 and 24, married before their 18th birthday, compared to 1-in-30 young men. While the prevalence, causes and impact of child marriage among girls have been extensively studied, little research exists on child marriage among boys, according to UN News. It is clear though that children most at risk come from the poorest households, live predominantly in rural areas and have little to no education. “As we mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we need to remember that marrying boys and girls off while they are still children runs counter to the rights enshrined in the Convention,” reminded Fore. “Through further research, investment and empowerment, we can end this violation,” she asserted. Source: UNB AH

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been declared husband and wife, following a ceremony at Windsor Castle. The couple exchanged vows and rings before the Queen and 600 guests at St George's Chapel. Reports BBC. Wearing a dress by British designer Clare Waight Keller, Ms Markle was met by Prince Charles, who walked her down the aisle. Following their marriage, the couple will be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Among the guests were Oprah Winfrey, George and Amal Clooney, David and Victoria Beckham and Sir Elton John. Ms Markle had 10 bridesmaids and pageboys - including Prince George and Princess Charlotte. She wore Queen Mary's diamond bandeau tiara, loaned to her by the Queen. Prince Charles walked Ms Markle down the aisle, after her father, Thomas, was unable to attend for health reasons. In her vows, Ms Markle did not promise to "obey" her husband, while the prince broke with royal tradition by choosing to wear a wedding ring. Prince Harry's ring is a platinum band with a textured finish and Ms Markle's has been made from a piece of Welsh gold. AH

She’s still technically married to Brad Pitt (52) but Angelina Jolie (41) allegedly has her heart set on a new marriage. Barely a year after filing for divorce from her husband, Angelina is reportedly planning her fourth wedding to a wealthy, 40-something businessman and philanthropist, according to InTouch Weekly! Angelina and her handsome British guy reportedly started dating in early 2017, and has been keeping the whole relationship ‘very hush-hush.’ That means that Brad has no idea she’s dating, let alone engaged or getting married. ‘Angelina could tell Brad what’s going on but she’s choosing not to,’ a source told InTouch. She reportedly hopes he ‘will be taken by complete surprise. If it makes Brad unhappy when he finds out, she’s fine with that.’ She actually hasn’t even told her six kids about the alleged wedding for fear that they’ll spill the beans to their dad. As for the wedding itself, Angelina’s reportedly taking her closest friends and family to Cambodia, ‘her second home,’ for a traditional Buddhist ceremony, according to the source. The wedding will allegedly take place on a wildlife reserve, wear traditional Cambodian clothing, and serve local delicacies at the reception. ‘Angie’s thinking of having Shiloh, Zahara, and Vivienne as bridesmaids and Maddox as the groom’s best man since Maddox sort of feels he’s the man of the family now,’ the source said. Knox will allegedly be the ring bearer, and Pax will DJ and bake the cake for the reception (he did for his parents’ wedding, too!) It all sounds lovely, but how will Brad react when he finds out? Source: Hollywood Life AH

Finally, director Raj Chakraborty married heroine Subhashree Ganguly. On Tuesday night, the heroine and director of Kolkata films changed the rings. The registration of Raj-Subhashree has been done at the same time. Together they uncovered the news of entering their new lives. Raj and Subhashree posted photos of their ring exchanges on Twitter. Raj wrote in the tweet, 'After all the different opinions we choose each other today. The rest of the life we will walk together. I wish everyone's blessings and love. ' Subhashree wrote, 'I love my love story. I know it is very orderless but this is the story that make us be together. ' Meanwhile, Raj-Subhashree's marriage was attended by Raj's longtime friend actor Rudranil. He said, after so many gossips one thing comes to my mind today that old love is the real love. Raj-Subhashree both had much tension so many days. Sometimes they reacted, sometimes kept silent. Today I am hopeful that both of them will be able to concentrate more on their work. The work will be more focused. Prior to Subhashree, Raj had a long-standing relationship with Mimi Chakraborty, another popular heroine of Kolkata. But at one time the relationship broke down. Finally, Subhashree emerged as the lover of Raj. FU