It is nothing but backward thinking on the part of our society that, in this day and age, single people still find it difficult to find an apartment or house to rent in our capital or other big cities.
As more people flock to Dhaka for jobs and higher education, and more people embrace living independently, the issue of finding a house in the city becomes relevant to more and more people.
It is a shame that, despite all the economic progress we are making as a nation, we have a long way to go in terms of progressive thinking.
However, it is encouraging that there are some within us who are looking to make a change and seek solutions: The Bharatiya Parishad earlier this week -- as part of a seven-point demand -- urged setting aside a portion of houses and apartments to satisfy the growing demand for the accommodation of singles.
This is the sort of mind-set we need, one which recognizes that single people are increasing in the workforce, and this substantial population requires housing.
This idea that single people will cause more trouble, are less trustworthy, or make worse tenants than married couples or families has no basis, and it is about time that prejudice was done away with. We, as a nation, need to shake off this culturally retrograde attitude that views single people as suspicious.
Stigmatizing all the single people in our country -- who have done nothing wrong and have every right to legally rent a dwelling -- is a kind of discriminatory thinking. We should be treating all individuals with basic dignity, whether single or married.