09-07-2021

frIDAy, July 9, 2021
4
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Friday, July 9, 2021
Zakat can significantly
alleviate poverty
The pandemic is getting worse and people of
small means or hardly any means, they are
finding the going too tough. The date of
observance of holy Eid-ul-Azha is also nearing.
People of some means are seen to be more charitable
now than at other times of the year. Also it needs
underlining that the poverty situation is turning so
bad that government alone cannot be depended on
entirely for deliverance from the deepening poverty.
Now is the time for the resourceful in society to
loosen their fists and give generously to the poor as
supplementary to government's efforts to reduce the
pangs of poverty by fulfilling their moral and
religious duties through Zakat.
But Bangladesh today is also a country where
one comes across rather unwelcome spectacles of
giving Zakat. Many resourceful people are seen
distributing mainly petty cash and clothes among
poor people as a way of discharging their religious
obligation of Zakat. Stampedes are noted sometimes
during the month of Ramadan and before the
celebration of the Eid-ul-Azha which cause tragic
deaths of some of those who scramble in a frenzy to
collect cheap cotton saris or lungis given away as
Zakat. Sad events like these should have galvanized
national thinking about how far such individual
demonstrations of charity would be welcome and
whether better channeling of resources for charity
should be devised and implemented.
As it is, cash and clothes distributed by rich
people in Bangladesh during Ramadan and the Eid
satisfy to some extent for a brief period basic
consumption needs of very poor people. This is not
entirely without value but if the same resources
could be moblised under a single fund or funds and
then utilised to build progressively free feeding
centres, shelters for homeless people, houses,
hospitals, orphanages, skill training centres and
industries to take care of the poor and create skills
in them to earn a livelihood , then the same could
make a bigger and lasting dent in the poverty
situation.
One needs to only recall the example of Prophet
Mohammed (SM) in this connection. A poor
woodcutter who came to the Prophet (SM) for alms
was given an axe by the Prophet. The alms seeker
was advised that he could utilize this tool and make
a living out of it. The recipient of the axe did so and
he no longer had to beg for alms. This should be an
evershining example for Muslim peoples all over the
world. Affluent Muslims should feel an obligation to
carry out their religious duty of giving Zakat. But
they should pay the zakat in a manner to help the
recipient to help themselves. In this way, the
formidable problem of poverty in the Islamic
countries can be effectively addressed .
Policy planners in Bangladesh can think over the
matter and sensitize people here to pay their Zakat
more in this institutional form. But paying the Zakat
institutionally is only one aspect of deriving greater
value from it. The other aspect is paying it in
proportion to one's surplus wealth as was ordained
in the holy Koran. How many well-off people in
Bangladesh actually discharge their Zakat
obligation very exactly ? Very few indeed.
Most of them pay Zakat negligibly compared to
what would be due from them from the estimation
of their wealth. Thus, people should be urged to pay
Zakat not only in token amounts but in amounts
they ought to according to the Koranic instruction.
Imams in their sermons in mosques should
regularly emphasize this factor. Government should
run regular campaigns in the mass media to this
end. Government presently runs a central Zakat
fund but its activities are very limited compared to
the potential.
However, we believe that the size of the centrally
operated Zakat fund can become massive -- over
time -- if resourceful people on a large scale can be
motivated to send their Zakat to it in rightful
proportion to their real wealth. In that case, this
fund will surely grow to be a vast one in size. Next
thing to be considered would be its operation. The
fund will have to be operated by persons with talent,
vision and impeccable integrity of character. If such
persons take up the responsibility of administering
the fund, then it will prove to be a very powerful
agent for poverty alleviation and our social
transformation.
Nonetheless, it is underlined here that this year,
considering the pandemic, people may find merit in
paying their Zakat for the short-term needs of
helping the poor under very distressful conditions
of the pandemic. But once the situation normalizes,
they can reorient themselves to the longer term
vision of the Zakat as discussed above.
Let us ensure nutrition for RMG workers
Almost all sectors around the world
have been affected to some extent
due to Covid-19. Though it is
mainly related to health, economic
activities came to an almost halt due to
its impact.
The Covid-19 has had an
overwhelmingly negative impact on
vulnerable workers in the food system
and the ready-made garment (RMG)
sector. Wage-based workers and farmers
are some of the most devastated by the
pandemic, and they will likely continue
to be vulnerable for many months to
come.
The RMG sector supply chain workers
in low-paid jobs are being laid off due to
businesses unable to operate in
government lockdowns for many
months. The wage-based workers in
Bangladesh, where labor policies are not
fully developed or enforced, were not
provided compensation during the
lockdown and some are losing their jobs.
Female workers are particularly at
most risk due to intra-household food
distribution within the limited food
provision.
According to Business Consultant
organization- LightCastle Partners
research report titled 'Impact of
Coronavirus on Livelihoods of RMG
Workers in Urban Dhaka'(report-2020)
that the RMG workers' household
income has reduced approximately by
31% while increased by 29% of their food
cost. Along with that, the other wagebased
labourers are probably
experiencing the same situation.
This less income and increased food
cost will fling them to consume a lowcost
carbohydrate-based diet.
Due to Covid-19, most of the factories
had faced challenges to get back on track
for their business and are trying to
provide standard wage and nutritious
Though a national problem, leprosy
issue remained neglected for a long
time in the country. Due to
outbreak of Covid-19, leprosy has
reportedly lost its importance more.
Bangladesh's aim to achieve the target of
leprosy-free country seemed uncertain
due to continued negligence to the issue,
though there was a clear-cut directive
from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to
free the country from leprosy by 2030.
National Leprosy Elimination
Progarme (NLEP) is now running with
inadequate budget, causing disruption in
its activities.
Concerned sources said, there was
average financial allocation of Tk.
between 45 lakh to 50 lakh by the
government for anti-leprosy programme
every year in the last five years till the
current year. But due to outbreak of
Corona, anti-leprosy activities by the
government remained almost suspended
across the country in the last two years.
Rights activists working in leprosy
diet at the workplaces.
The crisis has exposed and
compounded the negative impact on
accessing nutritious and safe foods by
the workers in the workplaces as well as
at home. In this situation, the health and
wellbeing of the workers are likely to be
significantly affected.
Standard Group is one of the largest
garments manufacturing companies in
Bangladesh. Standard Stitches Limited
(Unit- 2) is one of the factories of
Standard Group. The total workers'
number is 1500 among them the
mD. S. ISlAm
percentage of female workers is 60 and
they were the most vulnerable group.
Usually, this factory used to provide
usually, this factory used to provide snacks to their
workers when they do overtime. Due to Covid situation
this snack provision is not running, so, there
was no option of providing any food/snacks to the
workers. Even the factory had no option for workers
to give overtime for extra income. Also factory
failed to provide salary timely to the workers.
snacks to their workers when they do
overtime. Due to Covid situation this
snack provision is not running, so, there
was no option of providing any
food/snacks to the workers. Even the
Factory had no option for workers to give
overtime for extra income. Also factory
failed to provide salary timely to the
workers.
As a result, the workers also have a
very limited opportunity to maintain a
ShAbAb TAShrIf ZAmAn
In search of a leprosy free country
sector, including officials of NLEP,
observed that the amount for anti-leprosy
programme is inadequate. Leprosy is a
national problem, but it is yet to get
priority to the concerned policymakers.
Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases in
the world. People with leprosy generally
suffer multiple forms of discrimination.
Leprosy continues to pose serious health
and other problems in the country
although it is curable and-if diagnosed on
time-disabilities resulting from this
disease can be prevented.
According to The Leprosy Mission
International-Bangladesh (TLMI-B),
annually on an average 3500-4000 new
leprosy cases are detected in the country
in the recent years. About 10 percent of
them later turn disabled for their failure to
take timely and proper treatment. The
disease is an infection caused by slowgrowing
bacteria called Mycobacterium
leprae. However, if left untreated, it can
affect the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of
the nose (nasal mucosa). The nerve
mD. SAZEDul ISlAm
damage can result in crippling of hands
and feet, paralysis, and blindness.
If steps are taken up to identify leprosy
cases in every upazila of the country in
early stage, then anti-leprosy drive would
go speedily. But due to lack of necessary
funds, anti-leprosy activities are being
hampered. Early case detection is very
important in leprosy eradication
programme. If initiative is not taken to
detect new cases and bring them under
treatment timely, the goal of eradicating
leprosy will not be achieved.
Aside from a possible disability, later
detection also increases the likelihood of
leprosy spreading throughout a
community. Multi-drug therapy makes
people non-infectious after just two weeks
of treatment, and so early detection can
reduce the number of cases of leprosy in a
region.
For eradicating leprosy, various
activities such as training, advocacy,
smooth supply of Multi-drug therapy
(MDT) drugs, early case detection,
balanced diet for their daily life due to
limited purchasing capacity. As a result,
several workers especially female
workers became sick after regular
intervals even sometimes they faint on
the floor.The situation demanded that
private sector alongside the government
come forward to mitigate the sufferings
of the workers. The government expects
that the private sector would supplement
its activities on ensuring welfare for the
workers.
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
(GAIN), a Switzerland-based
international development organization,
is one of the organizations that came
forward to address the problem of the
workers amid the pandemic.
In a bid to address the nutritional
requirement of the workers, GAIN
started a project titled 'Nutrition Security
to Vulnerable workers (NSVW)' for the
most of the vulnerable workers.
Standard Stitches Ltd. Unit 2, Savar,
Dhaka applied for the grant to GAIN for
addressing the short-term hunger and
nutrition-related issues of the factory
workers. Before starting the project,
some factory management was not
positive since the snack distribution
process overlapped with worker's
production time. Not only that, but snack
distribution also involves additional
activities that need extra time e.g.,
keeping the floor clean and maintaining
food hygiene.
Finally, Standard Stitches Ltd. (Unit 2)
has completed 50 days of snack
distribution without facing any
complications and trouble. After the end
of the project, Factory management
shared their positive views individually
about the consequence of this project.
The author is a journalist
of a Weekly
The Capricious Nature of Euro 2020
Euro 2020 has surprised us with
every possible mind-boggling
outcome it could catapult at us.
From the shocking French upset against
Switzerland to the edge-of-the-seat thriller
between Spain and Croatia, it has
manifested itself to the football pundits as
one of the most enigmatic and iffy cup
competitions in the history of international
football.
The tension and thrills of international
football had almost dried up in the last
three years. Ever since the French glory in
the 2018 Fifa World Cup, we have not
experienced much heat from the
international actions, and seemed that
club football would eventually start sipping
the energy exuded by international cup
ties. The pandemic further consolidated
the point by pushing back any
international competition supposed to
take place that year. However, Euro 2020,
alongside Copa America, entered the stage
just at that moment to remind the fans of
international soccer that sleepless nights
and relentless debates are back for good.
Even amidst the deadly pandemic, we now
have a reason to smile as our eyes fixate on
the television screen and feast on eyecatching
action. Upon its return after five
long, dreary years, Euro 2020 has
splashed us with a wave of stupendous
football and magnanimous upsets that
makes it one to be remembered for years to
come.
Where do I start with the beauty of the
contest? It has been an eye-opener since
the first day when a rejuvenated Italy
under the guidance of Roberto Mancini
took on tournament underdogs Turkey.
Albeit the first half made me expect
something unexpected from Turkey, in the
end Mancini's men proved their worth by
thrashing the men in red 3-0. The third
match of the tournament appalled all fans
of the sport as Eriksen fell victim to a
harrowing cardiac arrest, but the brave
heartthrob of Danish football came out as
victorious and cheered on for a team that
was brave enough itself to come back even
after the shock. Eriksen's chants worked
like magic as Denmark beat Russia in style
and escaped death in their final match.
And since then, Denmark's performance
has been consistently pleasant and gritty
because of how they led the attack without
their commander in charge of the midfield.
Czech Republic's performance has been
another wonder, with Schick's jawdropping,
otherworldly halfway-line goal
being the potential best goal of the
tournament. The big names in the
tournament served their fans right, with
many legends like Modric, Neuer or
Benzema showing off their flares for one
last time before retirement, and Euro 2020
seemed like a tight series of fixtures that
satiated the fans with artsy football.
However, the surreal drama unveiled
itself fully in the nail-biting Round of 16. It
is drama that accompanied the resilient
Czech Republic's triumph over a bitter
Netherlands team as they were left
distraught in a 2-0 shocker. Any pundit in
the world would've chosen Depay, De Jong
and Wijnaldum to emerge victorious but
instead they got treated by another
quintessential Schick performance that
helped the Czech's register their names in
to the last 8. That was only the kick that
spurred even more shocks, and
heartbreaks followed as the highly fancied
Belgium lay down conundrums in the path
of the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo and
knocked out the defending champions in
another edge-of-seat contest.
Subsequently, we were gifted with another
Drama is nothing unnatural in the realms of professional football.
It has always been there, and it is what enlivens the beautiful
game. As we step into a new generation of football, we are consistently
reminded that it is a game for all to enjoy, and that alludes
to the upset glories Euro 2020 has shown us. Personally, as a fervent
fan of Germany, heartbreak has been relatively new to me.
thriller between Spain and Croatia, which
saw Croatia equalize a two-goal deficit at
the stoppage time to drag the game onto
the extra-time. That very night we
experienced the Swiss glory over a French
team that seemed unstoppable. These
fixtures reminded us of why we love
football- the high stakes and the tense
action that unites family members in the
living room, and eventually the world in
one game.
Drama is nothing unnatural in the
realms of professional football. It has
always been there, and it is what enlivens
the beautiful game. As we step into a new
generation of football, we are consistently
reminded that it is a game for all to enjoy,
and that alludes to the upset glories Euro
2020 has shown us. Personally, as a
fervent fan of Germany, heartbreak has
been relatively new to me. Since the 2018
appall, I've been praying and keeping my
fingers crossed every night Germany took
on a new challenge. I looked up to Havertz,
Kimmich or Muller for a triumph, and was
left overwrought when England knocked
them out. But that's just the reality, and as
we look forward to a stronger comeback,
we realize the contingent nature of the
game and accept the unexpected turn of
events.
Euro 2020 seems wholly unpredictable.
Italy looks formidable, yes, but it is not
conclusive, because one of the central
tenets of the game is the unpredictability of
it. As for me, I hope Spain lifts the famous
old trophy because of the huge proportion
of Barcelona men the Spanish squad
consists of, and I adore Barcelona. Then
again, we cannot elude the likeliness of
Denmark or Ukraine going for glory. Like I
said, football is a game subjected to
discordance, and the Euro 2020 really is
the epitome of this nature of the game. But,
as long as the game unites millions in tears
or joy, it will always remain the world's
game.
Shabab Tashrif Zaman is a
vigorous fan of artsy German and
Barcelonian football. Reach him
out with your Euro predictions at
shababtashrifzaman@gmail.com
monitoring, launching awareness
campaign, follow-up, carrying out regular
contact survey and skin camp are needed
to be done. But these are being hampered
mainly due to lack of necessary funds.
Due to lack of regular survey, initial
detection of leprosy patients is being
hampered, creating problem for checking
the spread of leprosy disease.
Adequate money is needed to make
Bangladesh leprosy free. Skill
development activities of physicians and
employees are being hampered because of
budget crunch. NGOs are detecting more
leprosy cases in their working areas and
the affected people are getting the health
services offered by the government.
It is important to hold regular contact
survey aimed at finding out leprosy
affected people in an area. Besides, it is
important to pursue follow-up, and hold
regular monitoring on the activities of
leprosy eradication programme centrally.
The writer is a freelance journalist