How medical evidence is used to discredit rape complainants
The need for corroborative or medical evidence to prove rape (and therefore these two rules) violates the global standards set by the UN and the WHO.
1y ago
A company’s negligence killed 44 people. What price will it pay?
Another brutal reminder that worker safety is last on our list of priorities for our progressive and developing country.
2y ago
National Legal Aid Day: Three ways to improve our national legal aid system
Today marks the National Legal Aid Day, which was introduced by the government in January 2013, in an effort to increase public awareness of national legal aid services.
2y ago
Where is our independent prosecution service?
Although we frequently hear calls for justice whenever a grievous crime takes place, the role of public prosecutors, i.e. the very individuals who conduct criminal cases in court on behalf of the state, is seldom—if ever—discussed.
2y ago
Where can domestic violence survivors actually go?
On this year’s International Women’s Day, which is being celebrated across Bangladesh and with much grandiosity in Dhaka, I want us all to think of Yasmin Ara, a young woman from Satkhira, who has been thrown out of her home by her mother-in-law a few months after losing her husband.
2y ago
We need a state compensation fund for victims of violent crime
Whenever a violent crime like gang rape or custodial torture takes place, we are quick to demand justice for it.
2y ago
How the Banani rape verdict exposes the rape culture in our courtrooms
On November 11, 2021, Mosammat Kamrunnahar, judge of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 7 in Dhaka, reportedly asked the police “to refrain from receiving a case if a rape victim comes to the police station after 72 hours of the incident” since “semen cannot be traced after 72 hours.”
3y ago
Three months after the Hashem factory fire, has there been any ‘justice’?
Today, October 8, marks three months since the deadly Hashem Foods fire, which claimed the lives of at least 54 people. Out of those killed, at least 17 were children. Out of these 17 children, at least 11 were girls.
3y ago
June 26, 2018
Purchasing impunity in the name of 'compensation'?
On 19 June 2018, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a speeding SUV near Mohakhali flyover in Dhaka.
May 29, 2018
Road deaths and injuries: The role of tort law
Bangladesh is hardly any stranger to road deaths and injuries but this past month has been particularly poignant since certain road injuries and subsequent deaths in Dhaka have garnered nationwide attention due to their tragic and gruesome nature.
April 17, 2018
A classic tort of negligence
On 29 March 2018, a seven year old child was killed due to a lift malfunction in her own home in Shantinagar, Dhaka. The victim,
March 27, 2018
US-BANGLA AIR CRASH: A tort law perspective
The recent tragic air crash of the US-Bangla Flight BS211 in Kathmandu, which killed more than 50 passengers and injured around 20 others, is rife with potential liabilities in tort law. This incident can, hence, serve as yet another reminder about the burning necessity of having an effective legal framework for tort and the opportunity cost of not having one. Indeed the tortious implications of the US-Bangla air crash
March 14, 2018
A logical antidote
Currently, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN Women Bangladesh are jointly drafting a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP) with a view to implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for increasing women's participation in efforts to maintain peace and security. The NAP shall aim to ensure women's meaningful participation in the prevention of conflict
January 29, 2018
Banning child marriage in light of religion
The Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 which allowed girls under 18 and boys under 21 to be married off under “special circumstances” was undoubtedly the country's most controversial law of 2017.
December 23, 2017
Zero tolerance for fatwas that violate human rights
On December 12, 2017, Bangladesh Police arrested Abu Musa, an imam of a local mosque in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia district, for issuing a fatwa prohibiting women from going out of their homes to work in farm fields.
December 5, 2017
A landmark compensation suit
On 3 December 2017, the High Court Division (HCD) awarded Tareque Masud's family Tk 4.6 crores in damages
August 19, 2017
On sexism, son preference and female infanticide in Bangladesh
On July 30, a father in Narayanganj burned his nine-month-old female infant alive since he “wanted a son” and was enraged at the birth of a girl (“Father 'wanted son', burns baby girl alive”, The Daily Star, August 4, 2017).
July 26, 2017
Why is marital rape still legal in Bangladesh?
We need to acknowledge that the reluctance in our country to criminalise marital rape is rooted in the medieval notion that upon signing the marriage contract, a wife perpetually and irrevocably consents to sexual intercourse with her husband whenever he so demands.
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