Law & Local Governance Archives - Page 2 of 3

The Essential Legal and Social Reforms Bangladesh Needs to End Rape and Child Abuse

June 13, 2026June 13, 2026 editor No Comments

Tanzina Fardoush Oniket Research Group Bangladesh has a crisis it does not discuss loudly enough. Rape and child sexual abuse are not rare aberrations in the social order. They are pervasive, systemic, and deeply rooted in the combined failures of law, culture, and governance. Despite legislative activity in recent years, the conviction rate for rape…

Law & Local Governance

Reforming Copyright Law for the Age of AI

June 13, 2026June 13, 2026 editor No Comments

Desk Report Oniket Research Group Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant possibility for Bangladesh’s creative and digital economy. It is already here, producing text, images, music, and software with astonishing speed and diminishing human involvement. This unprecedented capability poses a fundamental legal challenge: can Bangladesh’s copyright framework, designed around the premise of human creativity,…

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Sex Work Under the Shadow of Law

June 7, 2026June 7, 2026 editor No Comments

In Bangladesh, sex work has always been a controversial subject of discussion. On one hand, this country is one of the few Muslim majority nations in the world where adult women providing sexual services are legally recognized. On the other hand, this legal recognition has never ensured safety, dignity, or basic rights for sex workers….

Law & Local Governance

Between Law and Ambiguity: Bangladesh’s Duty-Free Alcohol Allowance Under Scrutiny

June 6, 2026June 6, 2026 editor No Comments

Bangladesh occupies a distinctive position on the global map of alcohol regulation. The state in question cannot be characterized as either a fully prohibitionist state or an open market. Instead, it employs a layered framework of permissions and restrictions that is, in practice, riddled with inconsistency, ambiguity, and social tension. This phenomenon is particularly evident…

Law & Local Governance

Bangladesh’s Cyber Security Act 2026: A Critical Analysis- Part 1 of 2

June 6, 2026June 6, 2026 editor No Comments

Bangladesh’s Cyber Security Act, 2026 (CSA 2026) is a sweeping new law, enacted on April 10, 2026, that replaces the Cyber Security Ordinance, 2025. It creates a broad framework of cyber‐crimes and enforcement powers. Key features include criminalizing online harassment (e.g. non‑consensual sharing of images, “revenge porn”, blackmail), cyber extortion, fraud, “cyber terrorism,” and unauthorized…

Law & Local Governance

The July National Charter 2025: Promise, Ambiguity, and the Constitutional Crossroads

May 30, 2026May 30, 2026 editor No Comments

The mass uprising of July and August 2024 that ended fifteen years of Awami League rule and forced Sheikh Hasina from power was not merely a political transition. It was, by any serious reading, a foundational rupture. It was a moment in which the legitimacy of the existing constitutional order was tested in the streets…

Law & Local Governance

Sexual Abuse in Bangladesh; A society in deep crisis

May 30, 2026May 30, 2026 editor No Comments

Sexual abuse and child exploitation in Bangladesh represent a profound systemic crisis rather than a collection of isolated crimes, driven by deep-rooted failures across legal, cultural, and governance frameworks. The stark reality that the conviction rate for rape falls below one percent highlights a broken judicial pathway, which naturally deters most survivors from ever reporting…

Law & Local Governance

Intellectual Property in Bangladesh: Publishing, Music and Cinema

May 24, 2026May 24, 2026 editor No Comments

Bangladesh possesses a rich and historically deep creative tradition spanning literature, music, and cinema. Yet despite this cultural wealth, the creators who sustain it (authors, composers, filmmakers, lyricists, and performers) remain among the most legally unprotected and economically unrewarded in the region. The absence of enforceable formal agreements, functioning royalty systems, and robust institutional arrangements…

Law & Local Governance

A worthy yet incomplete argument: A critical review of Nafiul Alam Shupto’s article in the Daily Star

May 23, 2026May 23, 2026 editor No Comments

Nafiul Alam Shupto‘s article, published in the Daily Star, makes a valuable and overdue intervention in Bangladesh’s legal and political discourse. By shifting the lens of accountability from the police to the judiciary, it challenges a comfortable intellectual habit … the tendency to treat law enforcement as the sole site of arbitrary detention while treating…

Law & Local Governance

From Symbolism to Sovereignty: Reclaiming Women’s Democratic Power in Bangladesh’s Parliament

May 15, 2026May 30, 2026 editor 1 Comment

For over five decades, Bangladesh has relied on reserved parliamentary seats for women as a corrective to entrenched gender exclusion. Enshrined in Article 65(3) of the Constitution, the current system allocates 50 seats to women, elected not by citizens but by sitting Members of Parliament through proportional representation. While this arrangement once served an important…

Law & Local Governance