The government of Bangladesh retreated from a policy that would have given women equal property rights. Last week, the military backed government introduced a policy that would give women equal rights to inherit property. However, Agence France Presse (AFP) reports that Muslim clerics protested the policy, claiming it violates sharia law.

Ayesha Khanam, general secretary of the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, told the Daily Star that the current political situation has caused religious-based parties to view advances in women’s rights as threatening.

Shirin Akhter, president of Working Women, told AFP, “The policy spells out clearly that women should have equal rights to property, which includes inheritance. Our hope is that the government does not get distracted by any so-called religious group.”

Bangladesh’s population is 90 percent Muslim, but its legal system is largely secular. Women’s rights groups drew attention to the disparities in the laws treatment of men and women over the weekend in honor of International Women’s Day, according to the Independent Bangladesh. As well as fighting for equal rights to property, women called for setting aside a third of parliamentary seats for women in the National Women Development Policy 2008. The policy has frequently been under attack by extremist religious groups. Women’s rights groups also called for similar wages for men and women in similar jobs, reformation of the criminal justice delivery system, and an end for violence against women.

Media Resources: Agence France Presse 03/12/08; Daily Star 03/12/08; Independent Bangladesh 03/09/08

Courtesy: Lopa Tasneem, Source: Feminist Daily News Wire,