PPLA collaborates with leading legal aid organisation in dissemination event

On the 23rd July 2022, PPLA was invited to share research findings at an online event convened by the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), one of the leading legal aid organisations in the country. Fourteen prominent human rights lawyers from BLAST’s national network joined the discussion from around the country. Following introductory remarks by Adv. Md. Tajul Islam, Advocate at the Bangladesh Supreme Court and senior BLAST adviser, findings from PPLA’s field research concerning gendered exclusion and land rights were presented by PPLA Researcher Nasrin Siraj and Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) Research Fellow Dr Oliver Scanlan.

There followed a panel discussion with key interventions by Md. Shahid Khan of Madaripur Legal Aid and Advocate Manik Majumder, General Secretary of the Faridpur District Lawyers Association. Both had extensive experience wrestling with the problems our research highlighted, including the reluctance of women to make claims on property and thereby put at risk social relations with male family members. In addition they both highlighted the issue of widows, which our research had not addressed, noting that widows are extremely marginalised in society and under the law.

A number of recommendations emerged from the discussion that followed, including the need for grassroots awareness raising and changing social attitudes, as a way to generate political will for changing the law so that it ensures women receive equal rights to land. Advocate S.M. Rezaul Karim, Legal Adviser to BLAST, delivered closing remarks where he noted the importance of social and legal experts working together in order to end the long-standing discrimination against women when it comes to property rights, taking into account equity concerns and the differential impact of religious laws.