16th septiembre 2026
Bangladesh Joint Stakeholder Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its 93rd session
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This joint submission by Badabon Sangho, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Equality Now, Nagorik Uddyog, Naripokkho and the Women with Disabilities Development Foundation (WDDF) informs the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women‘s List of Issues for Bangladesh, ahead of its 93rd session (5 to 30 October 2026). It raises concerns on rape and marital rape laws, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, family law, child marriage, women and girls with disabilities, climate-induced vulnerabilities, employment and education, and gender-responsive budgeting, and suggests questions for the Committee to put to the State party.
This submission responds to the Committee’s forthcoming review of Bangladesh at its 93rd session and sets out questions for the Committee to consider when formulating its List of Issues to the State party. It documents gaps across seven areas: access to justice for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (including the marital rape exemption and technology-facilitated abuse), family laws governing divorce, guardianship and property, child marriage, access to justice for women and girls with disabilities, climate-induced vulnerabilities, employment and education, and gender-responsive budgeting.
Across these areas, the submission calls on the Committee to press for stronger alignment between Bangladesh’s laws and its CEDAW obligations, closing gaps such as inconsistent statutory definitions between the Penal Code and the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, and unaddressed loopholes in the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017. It also highlights how Dalit, disabled and climate-vulnerable women and girls face compounded barriers to justice across nearly every issue raised, from sexual violence to child marriage to gender-responsive budgeting.
Missing gravity form id.