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Previous studies on intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in Bangladesh rarely focused on the effectiveness of primary prevention strategies like legal remedies. There is also a lack of studies on the issues among the ethnic minority communities in the country. This study examines the awareness of laws on IPV (such as recognizing the abusive acts and knowing the sanctions) among the ethnic Garo and Santal and mainstream Bengali communities in rural Bangladesh. The study randomly included 1929 married women and men from 24 villages. It appeared that the respondents were not adequately aware of the relevant legal provisions. There were also gender and ethnic differences in the issues. On average, the respondents maintained a low score on recognizing abusive acts. The awareness was further lower among the women compared to the men. In addition, multivariate analysis indicated that the Bengali women had relatively a better understanding of the issues than the Garo and Santal women. However, the Garo men showed poorer awareness of recognizing the abusive acts than the Bengali and Santal men. On the other hand, the respondents also maintained a very insufficient knowledge of the sanctions against such abusive acts, whereas women also showed a lower awareness compared to their male counterparts. Data further revealed that the Santal women had a more inadequate understanding of the issues than the Bengali and Garo women. However, the Garo men had more awareness of the sanctions than the Bengali and Santal men. The study reveals that people are unfamiliar with the laws governing IPV. It shows that understanding legal issues is another field of gender and ethnic inequality in the country. We suggest that there should be intervention to make aware the citizen, mainly women of all ethnicities, to ensure the efficacy of the laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physician-patient communication behavior (PPCB) is the primary process by which medical decision-making occurs and health outcome depends. Physician-patient communication differences may partly from the ethnic disparities. To examine this problem, this study aims to explore whether physician-patient communication differs by ethnicity during primary care medical consultations. Methods: The study was conducted among the Bengali and ethnic minority patients (N = 850) who visited a physician for medical consultations. Data were collected using a structured post-consultation questionnaire. T-test was conducted to compare the communication between the Bengali and ethnic minority patients. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with favorable communication behavior from the physicians. Results: Bengali patients received more supportive communication behaviors from the Bengali doctors than that of ethnic minority patients including physicians' cheerful greetings, encouraging patients to express health problems and asking questions, listening carefully, responding to questions and concerns, explaining to patients about medical examination procedures, medication, probable side effects, discussing treatment options, involved the patients in decisions, and spending adequate time. Results of linear regression showed that respondents' level of education, internet use, knowledge about the health issue, having a pre-organized plan about the content of medical consultation, information seeking about the health problem, visiting female doctors, and a quiet ambience of the doctor's room are significantly associated with a better PPCB score for the Bengali patients. In contrast, age, being the resident of an urban area, perception of affecting a minor health problem, having a pre-organized plan about the content of medical consultation, patients' involvement in physicians' decision-making about the treatment, and talking time resulted in better physician-patient communication for the ethnic minority patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that reducing disparity in the socio-economic status of the ethnic minority groups through development programs and educating healthcare providers on how to use patient-centered communication skills to engage with their patients is one solution to improve equity in the delivery of healthcare and ensure than patients are receiving high-quality treatment, no matter their race or ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We describe differences in linear growth as measured by height-for-age z-score (HAZ) between children from Bengali and tribal populations in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and examine factors associated with HAZ in both groups. Design: We used nutritional surveillance data collected in Bangladesh from 2003 to 2006 to analyze HAZ among 12,006 children aged 6–23 months and conducted multivariate linear regression and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to quantify the relative contribution of independent variables to differences in HAZ between Bengali and tribal children. Results: Mean HAZ was stable for Bengali children (−1.88 in 2003 to −1.90 in 2006) but improved for tribal children (−1.87 in 2003 to −1.68 in 2006). The difference between groups was significant across the study period (p = 0.008). Among Bengali children, HAZ was positively associated with father's schooling (β = 0.221; 95% CI: 0.079–0.363). Among tribal children, HAZ was positively associated with consumption of animal source foods (β = 0.073; 95% CI: 0.051–0.096) and goat ownership (β = 0.240; 95% CI: 0.025–0.454). Results of a likelihood ratio test indicated that distance to a health center was inversely associated with HAZ among tribal children (p < 0.001). Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition demonstrated a difference in pooled coefficients between groups (p = 0.004), explained primarily by differences in coefficients for paternal education (p = 0.001) and village-level prevalence of open defecation (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Different responses among Bengali and tribal children to village-level open defecation are an explanatory factor for the difference in HAZ between Bengali and tribal populations. Open defecation may also act a proxy for unmeasured factors such as household environmental conditions and food hygiene. Abbreviations: Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT); height-for-age z-scores (HAZ); Nutrition Surveillance Project (NSP); World Health Organization (WHO) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of religion on contraceptive method mix in the context of son preference among Bengali-speaking population of eastern India (i.e., West Bengal and Tripura) and Bangladesh. In spite of cultural similarity and parallel programmatic approach to family planning in these two distinct geopolitical spaces, differential use of contraception is evident. Using National Family Health Survey (2005-2006) and Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (2007) and by employing sequential logit model, the paper finds evidence of latent son preference in adoption of modern contraception in Bengali-speaking Hindu and Muslim communities of eastern India. However, such practice is observed only among Hindus in Bangladesh. The paper further argues that although diffusion of the culture of son preference cuts across religious groups among Bengali-speaking community in eastern India, religious identity dominates over region in Bangladesh, encouraging minority Hindus to adopt a distinct pattern of contraceptive behavior with reference to sons. Such finding calls for further research in understanding the pros and cons of behavioral diffusion in majority-minority population mix in similar tradition and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent history of the Chittagong Hills in Bangladesh is marked by ongoing conflicts between minority (non-Muslim and non-Bengali) locals and state-sponsored (Bengali Muslim) immigrants. In general, these immigrants are framed as land grabbers who have been receiving protection from a pro-Bengali military force. We propose instead, that the understanding of these Bengalis as a homogenous category of mobile perpetrators fails to take into account their complex histories as mobile landless peasants. Our ethnographic research reveals that the framing of the local minorities and the mobile Bengalis as two antagonistic categories with opposing interests obscures the fact that both categories have fallen victim to very similar regimes of mobilities and immobilities of the state and national and local (political, economic and military) elites. Here, we reject binary thinking that counterpoises mobility and immobility as two antagonistic concepts and argue that mobility and immobility are intrinsically related and their relationship is asymmetrical. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Control of malaria increasingly involves administration of 8-aminoquinolines, with accompanying risk of haemolysis in individuals with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Few data on the prevalence and genotypic basis of G6PD deficiency are available from Bangladesh, where malaria remains a major problem in the South (Chittagong Division). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of G6PD deficiency, and associated G6PD genotypes, in adults with falciparum malaria in southern Bangladesh. Methods: G6PD status was assessed via a combination of fluorescent spot testing (FST) and genotyping in 141 Bengali patients admitted with falciparum malaria to two centres in Chittagong Division from 2012 to 2014. In addition, an analysis of genomic data from 1000 Genomes Project was carried out among five healthy Indian subcontinent populations. Results: One male patient with uncomplicated malaria was found to have G6PD deficiency on FST and a genotype associated with deficiency (hemizygous Orissa variant). In addition, there were two female patients heterozygous for deficiency variants (Orissa and Kerala-Kalyan). These three patients had a relatively long duration of symptoms prior to admission compared to G6PD normal cases, possibly suggesting an interaction with parasite multiplication rate. In addition, one of 27 healthy local controls was deficient on FST and hemizygous for the Mahidol variant of G6PD deficiency. Examination of 1000 Genomes Project sequencing data across the Indian subcontinent showed that 19/723 chromosomes (2.63%) carried a variant associated with deficiency. In the Bengali from Bangladesh 1000 Genomes population, three of 130 chromosomes (2.31%) carried deficient alleles; this included single chromosomes carrying the Kerala-Kalyan and Orissa variants. Conclusions: In line with other recent work, G6PD deficiency is uncommon in Bengalis in Bangladesh. Further studies of particular ethnic groups are needed to evaluate the potential risk of wide deployment of primaquine in malaria control efforts in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), diagnosed by symptom-based criteria due to lack of biomarkers, need translatedvalidated questionnaires in different languages. As Bengali, the mother tongue of Bangladesh and eastern India, is the seventh most spoken language in the world, we translated and validated the Enhanced Asian Rome III questionnaire (EAR3Q) in this language. Methods: The EAR3Q was translated in Bengali as per guideline from the Rome Foundation. The translated questionnaire was validated prospectively on Bengali-speaking healthy subjects (HS, n = 30), and patients with functional dyspepsia (FD, n = 35), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, n = 40) and functional constipation (FC, n = 12) diagnosed by clinicians using the Rome III criteria. The subjects were asked to fill-in the questionnaire again after 2 weeks, to check for its reproducibility. Results: During translation, the original and the backward translated English versions of the questionnaire demonstrated high concordance. Sensitivity of the Bengali questionnaire to diagnose patients with FD, IBS, FC, and HS was 100%, 100%, 75%, and 100%, respectively, considering diagnosis by the clinicians as the gold standard. On test-retest reliability analysis, Kappa values for FD, IBS, FC, and HS were 1.0, 1.0, 0.83, and 1.0, respectively. The Bengali questionnaire detected considerable overlap of FD symptoms among patients with IBS, IBS among patients with FD, and FD among patients with FC, which were not detected by the clinicians. Conclusions: We successfully translated and validated the EAR3Q in Bengali. We believe that this translated questionnaire will be useful for clinical evaluation and research on FGIDs in the Bengali-speaking population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review essay offers an excursion into Ketil Bjørnstad's Nåde (1998), a fine Norwegian novel centered on a Buddhist character and situated in post-1971 Muslim Bangladesh, and the novel's recent translation into Bengali. This translation seems to avoid many pitfalls common in “interlingual translation ortranslation proper” (to use Jakobson's famous phrase) and it succeeds, in my judgment as a translator and Bengali writer, in meeting the challenge of delivering an aesthetic equivalent of the source text. The creative commingling of novelistic discourse and ethnographic, situated description—which, as sociologist Howard Becker has shown, is different from “analytic summary” of observable phenomena—is highlighted; major themes running through the narrative—e.g., Bengali and Bengali-Buddhist identity, cultural allegiances and modalities of belonging—are identified and their significance for understanding the plight of Buddhists and other minorities, frequently caught in the midst of violent political conflicts in a politically divided Bangladesh, is closely attended to and commented on. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim To develop a translated and culturally adapted Bengali version of the WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool ( FRAX®) and to test its feasibility, content validity and reliability. Method The English FRAX was translated and culturally adapted for use in Bangladeshi populations following established forward-backward translation methods and being extensively field-tested. The final version was interviewer-administered to 130 consecutive osteoporotic patients between 40 and 90 years of age. For test-retest reliability, the questionnaire was re-administered after 14 days in 60 odd serial-numbered patients. Results To better match with the Bengali culture, several adaptations were made to the FRAX items, including replacements and additions for tobacco, prednisolone and alcohol use. The response rate of the pre-final Bengali version of FRAX was 100% and all patients could understand the questions. Test-retest reliability ( Pearson's r) in osteoporotic patients was > 0.93 for all items. Conclusion The culturally adapted Bengali version of the FRAX appears to be an acceptable and reliable instrument. Further studies are needed to confirm the ability of the tool to accurately predict the 10-year probability of hip and major osteoporotic fractures in the Bengali population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community is a basic unit of social organisation, which influences many aspects in our lives and patterns of actions. The aspect of community is seldom addressed in the realm of domestic violence initiatives, although community's perception and role, who are within women's close network, is important in curbing domestic violence since members of the community easily see and hear what is happening against women. My research aimed at exploring community's perceptions and activisms with regard to domestic violence against women at different rural settings of two Bangladeshi districts namely Netrokona and Mymensingh. Using interpretative qualitative approach, I excavated the perceptions and activism of the majority Bengali community as well as indigenous matriarchal Garo community. Living in strict patriarch rule, Bengali women usually are the easy victims of different forms of violence, but matriarchal structure also does not preclude Garo men to condone violence against women. Both the communities have some intervention mechanisms. Shalish or local arbitration is the most widely used community intervention in rural area although it has some in-built shortcomings. This study has significant implication in generating new knowledge and providing guidelines for future course of actions in redressing domestic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexism in English is a much condemned issue now-a-days. As English has established itself to be the international way of communication for political, business, educational, social correspondence all over the world, its multidimensional effect has shaped the spirit of speakers of other languages. The effect of various lexical elements of English language also provoked confusions in the mind of the non-native speakers of English language especially due to sexism. In Bangladesh, English has been taught for more than 50 years. Therefore, Bangladeshi learners and users of English frequently encounter many predicaments due to sexist components in English language as well as cultural differences between Bengali and English. This paper thus seeks to compare the sexist elements in both the languages to find out which language is more gender sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts an insight into the power of the powerless people which they employ for their survival where their lifeways have been threatened by the dominant cultures. Based on several ethnographic studies, it shows that the powerless people who do not take arms against the dominant cultures employ cultural resistance. In light of this view, the article focuses on the ethnographic work of the author, where the Toungsa Pahari, powerless indigenous people, employ several strategies for their survival. Juxtaposed with reluctant disposition, they employ cultural resistance in order to survive in the hard environment of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, endangered by the outsiders (Bangali settlers). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses five different representations of the homeland category 'Bengal'. The region of Bengal was partitioned twice in the twentieth century and imagined in a multitude of forms at different historical moments. The article describes the conditions that allowed different territories and peoples to crystallise as 'Bengal' and 'the Bengalis', and investigates why some versions of the Bengali homeland proved durable as others faded away. Rather than asking who is the real Bengali and where is the real Bengal, it investigates how particular identity categories become popularly practised and why particular images of the homeland come to be perceived as true, legitimate and authentic. It concludes that homeland categories are never fixed and finalised, but are rather always in a process of becoming, and are contested, reimagined and redefined as socio-political contexts change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Asia, the use of students' first language while studying English as a second or further language remains a matter of considerable interest and contention. This topic deserves further attention by teachers and researchers in efforts to make the educational and learning experience in often multilingual contexts as productive as possible. This short article addresses the ongoing debates in Bangladesh around the use of the Bangla language while teaching English classes at higher secondary (HSC) level. Presently, Bangla is generally discouraged on pedagogical grounds in the teaching and learning of English. This ethnographic study investigates the attitudes of Bangladeshi HSC level students towards the use of Bangla in English classes. The results indicate positive attitudes among the students towards using Bangla in the learning of English and suggest the necessity of revising the official negative approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]