Law & Local Governance Archives - The Oniket Bulletin

After the Ninth Pay Scale, Has the State Really Improved Job Security? Part 1

September 10, 2026September 10, 2026 editor No Comments

Beyond Higher Salaries, Bangladesh Needs a Sustainable Public Pay Structure The Ninth National Pay Scale 2026 is undoubtedly a major economic and administrative decision for Bangladesh’s government employees. The existing 20 grade structure has been retained, with the minimum basic salary set at Tk 20,000 and the maximum basic salary at Tk 156,000. Depending on…

Law & Local Governance

Beyond the Blame Game: Political Bias, Public Trust, and the Path to Safer Communities in Bangladesh

September 3, 2026September 3, 2026 editor No Comments

For much of the past two decades, Bangladesh’s response to social and humanity crimes, including violence against women, trafficking, mob violence, and communal unrest, has been filtered through a political lens before it has been filtered through a justice lens. Cases involving ruling party affiliates were often slow-walked, investigations were shaped by who held power…

Law & Local Governance

The Familiar Architecture of Local Governance in Bangladesh: Can the new cabinet decision improve it?

August 29, 2026August 29, 2026 editor No Comments

On August 27, 2026, the Cabinet Division of Bangladesh issued a notification assigning 30 ruling party lawmakers, including ministers and state ministers, supervisory responsibility over all 64 districts of the country. Framed as a mechanism to ensure good governance, curb corruption, control drug trafficking, and implement the government’s election manifesto, the decision has generated immediate…

Law & Local Governance

The Oniket Bulletin’s Law and Local Governance Coverage: A Critical Review of Twenty Seven Articles

August 20, 2026August 29, 2026 editor No Comments

Over sixteen weeks, the Law and Local Governance section of The Oniket Bulletin has published twenty seven articles that collectively trace an impressively broad map of Bangladesh’s legal and institutional landscape, ranging from constitutional foundations to the fine mechanics of ordinance drafting. When read as a cohesive body rather than discrete pieces, the section reveals…

Law & Local Governance

Legal Recognition, But Where Is the Protection? A Comparative Analysis of Sex Work Governance in Bangladesh and India

August 13, 2026August 13, 2026 editor No Comments

For decades, the legal status of sex work in Bangladesh and India has been marked by a fundamental contradiction. Neither country directly criminalises consensual sex work among adults, but various activities associated with sex work, including procuring, operating brothels, public solicitation, exploitation, and trafficking, are treated as offences under the law. As a result, sex…

Law & Local Governance

Comparative Legislative Frameworks on Women’s Political Participation in Pakistan and Bangladesh

August 6, 2026August 6, 2026 editor No Comments

Women’s representation in South Asian legislatures has long rested on a familiar mechanism: reserved parliamentary seats. Pakistan and Bangladesh, sharing a common colonial and constitutional heritage, both adopted this model as a corrective to entrenched gender exclusion. Yet as a recent analysis in The Oniket Bulletin argues, numerical inclusion without democratic legitimacy does not translate…

Law & Local Governance

TIB on legislative scrutiny in Bangladesh

July 30, 2026July 30, 2026 editor No Comments

The erosion of legislative scrutiny in Bangladesh has reached a point where the procedural safeguards meant to ensure deliberative democracy are being systematically bypassed. Recent developments in the Jatiya Sangsad reveal a troubling pattern: bills are being introduced as supplementary business, distributed to lawmakers’ moments before tabling, and passed through sheer numerical majority without the…

Law & Local Governance

Alcohol Law in Bangladesh

July 23, 2026July 30, 2026 editor No Comments

Bangladesh, home to the world’s fourth-largest Muslim population, enforces some of the strictest alcohol controls in Asia. Its legal framework governing alcohol sale and consumption reflects a delicate balance between Islamic religious values, indigenous cultural traditions, and the practical demands of a modernising economy. Understanding how this framework operates and where it falls short is…

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Law & Local Governance

Bangladesh’s Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017: Did we pay attention?

July 23, 2026July 23, 2026 editor No Comments

Bangladesh’s Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 was designed to modernise a colonial era statute and curb one of the highest child marriage rates on earth. Instead, its controversial Section 19 special provision has become the focal point of sustained domestic and international criticism, raising questions about whether the reform moved the country forward or backward….

Law & Local Governance

Legal Reforms in Bangladesh on Adultery Cases

July 16, 2026July 16, 2026 editor No Comments

Bangladesh’s Penal Code of 1860 retains a colonial-era provision on adultery that is increasingly difficult to reconcile with the country’s constitutional commitments to equality and non-discrimination. Section 497, as it currently stands, not only fails to protect the very individuals it claims to serve but actively perpetuates gender-based legal inequality with far-reaching social consequences. The…

Law & Local Governance