“I Know, Right” consists of a team of three lawyers and one social entrepreneur:
Faran Md. Araf, who is currently a lecturer at LCLS (South) and a Barrister at Law from the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn. His role in the team is diverse – he does research work for the articles and helps in writing them as well. Additionally, he helps to conduct the seminars, making sure to keep them both entertaining and informative at the same time.
Tahsin Noor Salim, being a lecturer at LCLS (South) as well, and having gained a double major in Economics and Law from North South University, is also an important contributor to the articles.
Mariha Zaman Khan who is a Barrister from Lincoln’s Inn as well, and an advocate at the Dhaka District Court, and has been a lecturer at LCLS (South) for 5 years now and is currently the principal academic guidance counselor of the institution.
Both she, and Zaiba Tahyya, who is the Founder and CEO at FEM – Female Empowerment Movement and also has a degree in Criminology, both help in researching information and penning down the information.
The reason why these individuals mentioned above took the step to create a wordpress blog supported by a Facebook page like I Know, Right is because they feel like people in Bangladesh don’t take the laws set in place seriously – either because they don’t believe the laws will benefit them, or because they think it will be too much of a hassle to go through with the legal processes. The team of I Know, Right wants people to understand that the laws in Bangladesh are set in place to benefit its citizens – they want people to know that most of the legal problems arise because people aren’t aware that certain laws exist. That is precisely where an initiative like I Know, Right steps in, trying to raise awareness about citizen’s rights and aiming to educate them how to enforce them.
I Know, Right was launched on the 18th of May, 2019 and has since published 5 blog articles and released an interview, all of which have received both domestic and foreign engagement. In choosing the topics for their articles, the team works very diligently, making sure to state the rights of alternating parties partaking in a legal battle – to represent the voices of both the victims/offenders and the law enforcers.
As soon as the team narrows down a topic, they hit the books and delve into their research, nit-picking information and presenting authentic facts in an easy to understand, short written format. Even though their articles are currently written in the English language, I Know, Right soon hopes to bring out translated versions of their work to ease the hardships of their readers.
Even though our judicial system may seem very dysfunctional, Bangladeshi laws are actually very advanced compared to that of its neighboring nations. However, when specifically compared with India, it seems like Indian citizens are more prone to go to courts and seek help. I Know, Right wants to help change this mindset of people – they want people to seek legal counsel to their problems and try to change the system for the better. I Know, Right wants to remind Bangladesh’s citizens that it isn’t the government that is in charge of dispensing judgment – it’s the High Court’s job to serve the judgment. Nonetheless, the government does want its citizens to come forward. That is the very reason why it legislates laws – to protect its citizens – and I Know, Right is nothing but a medium through which the protection is being provided.
The team of I Know, Right is also willing to take part in pro-bono services. They would gladly give legal counsel to those in need free of cost if it means that they would be able to help the society in the slightest by doing so.
At this very moment, I Know, Right’s main objective is to increase awareness and reach as many people as they possibly can. They have plans to branch out to schools and universities to increase youth engagement, and they also want to expand their project beyond Dhaka.
In recent years, the citizens of Bangladesh have become more aware of their rights and now take legal procedures more seriously. This change is applauded by the team of I Know, Right and they hope that this change will continue. They believe that law is not only for the lawyers but for all living things that have constitutional rights. I Know, Right knows that citizens of this country are frustrated with the slow progress in the judicial systems, but they recommend people to stay on the path of law, reminding them that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
