Swedish sexism awareness hotline a big hit Court orders Zia’s arrest over fake birthday
COPENHAGEN: A large Swedish trade union has been running a week-long hotline where people can talk about condescending or patronising co-workers in an effort to raise awareness about workplace sexism and start a discussion about relations between employees.
Unionen spokesman Jennie Zetterstrom said the hotline had been “a huge success” with hundreds of calls.
She said women and men could anonymously call to ask about sexism and get advice on how to have more inclusive workplaces.
The “mansplainingakut” hotline – a fusion of mansplaining and the Swedish word for emergency – closes today. — AP DHAKA: A Bangladesh court has issued an arrest warrant for the country’s opposition leader after she failed to appear for a hearing over the date of her birthday.
The bizarre controversy, which has been raging for more than a decade, centres on the fact that Khaleda Zia celebrates her birthday on Aug 15, the day Bangladesh’s former leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated.
He was the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Zia’s bitter political rival, whose supporters allege that the opposition leader uses a fake birth date.
Many Bangladeshis have no record of their birth dates and millions use fake dates to make them eligible for government jobs with age restrictions.
Magistrate Mazharul Islam delivered the arrest order in a Dhaka court yesterday after a pro-government journalist filed a case accusing the two-time prime minister of lying about her birth date.
“The court issued the arrest warrant after she failed to appear in the court,” the plaintiff ’s lawyer Dulal Mitra said.
Police now have until March 2 to arrest Zia, who has faced two previous warrants in different cases.
She is likely to avoid that fate, however, by surrendering to the court and seeking bail.
Zia’s lawyer Sanaullah Mia confirmed the arrest order.
Rahman, who was brutally assassinated along with most members of his family in a military coup, is regarded as a hero of Bangladeshi independence and Aug 15 is a day of mourning. — AFP