Yes, provisions like reserved seats for women in Parliament, special laws to protect women, and quota systems to promote women's participation can be considered forms of affirmative action or positive discrimination that are aimed at advancing gender equality and promoting substantive equality between men and women in Bangladeshi society.

1. Constitutional Provisions on
Gender -BANGLADESH
• Dr. Shahnaz Huda
• (Do not use/quote except for examination
purposes)

2. GENDER
Gender is the socially, religiously and
culturally constructed roles of men
and women in society

3. • The Constitution of Bangladesh, passed on the
4th
of November, 1972 (roughly a year after
the declaration of independence), declared
four principles of State—nationalism,
democracy, socialism and secularism.

4. • In 1977, by virtue of a Proclamation Order,
secularism, one of the ideals in the original
Constitution, was substituted by the phrase
‘absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah’.

5. • In 1988, as a further step to the Islamization
process, Article 2A was inserted by virtue of
the Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act
1988 which states that the ‘State religion is
Islam, but other religions may be practiced in
peace and harmony in the Republic’.

6. • By the 15th
Amendment of the Constitution we
are now back to the original Constitution in
the sense that secularism is again a principle
of State policy.

7. Constitution of the People’s Republic of
Bangladesh
• Article 7 of the Constitution declares that any
existing law of the state which is inconsistent
with any provision of the Constitution shall be
void.
• Articles 27, 28 and 29 of the Constitution
declares the principles of non-discrimination.

8. Part II---Fundamental Principles of
State Policy---non-justiciable
• Like most constitutions, formal equality is
explicitly enshrined in the Bangladeshi
Constitution also and Article 10 of the
Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972 deals with
the participation of women in national life.

9. Article 19---Equality of Opportunity
• 19(3) states that The State shall endeavor to
ensure equality of opportunity and
participation of women in all spheres of
national life.

10. Part III---Fundamental Rights---
Justiciable---enforceable in Court
• Article 27.- EQUALITY BEFORE LAW
“All citizens are equal before law and are
entitled to equal protection of law”.

11. Article 28
• Article 28.- DISCRIMINATION ON GROUNDS
OF RELIGION ETC.
(1) “The State shall not discriminate against any
citizen on the grounds only of religion, race
caste, sex or place of birth.”
(2) “Women shall have equal rights with men in
all spheres of the State and of public life”

12. Article 28 goes on to add:
• Article 28 (3) deals with non-discrimination on
gender and other grounds not being grounds
to any disability, liability, restriction or
condition with regard to access to any place of
public entertainment or resort, or admission
to any educational institution

13. ARTICLE 28(4)
• NOTHING IN THIS ARTICLE SHALL PREVENT
THE STATE FROM MAKING SPECIAL
PROVISION IN FAVOUR OF WOMEN OR
CHILDREN OR FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF
ANY BACKWARD SECTION OF SOCIETY

14. ARTICLE 29
• Article 29 ensures: ‘Equality of opportunity in public
employment’ and states,
• (1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens
in respect of employment or office in the service of the
Republic.
• (2) No citizen shall on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, sex or place of birth, be ineligible for, or discriminated
against in respect of any employment or office in the service
of the Republic.
•

15. • (3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from --
• (a) making special provision in favour of any backward section of
citizens for the purpose of securing their adequate representation in the
service of the Republic;
• (b) giving effect to any law which makes provisions for reserving
appointment relating to any religious or denominational institution to
persons of that religion or denomination;
• (c) reserving for members of one sex any class of employment or
office on the ground that it is considered by its nature to be unsuited to
members of the opposite sex.
•

16. • Article 65(3): There shall be 50 reserved seats
for women and they shall be elected by the
MP’s on the basis of ‘ ‘proportionate
representation in the Parliament’

17. Enforcement of Fundamental
Rights
• Article 44 confers the right to move to the
High Court for enforcement---under Article
102 a WRIT may be filed.

18. The Citizenship Act, 1951
• Citizenship could only be transmitted through
the father (Sayeeda Rahman Malkani vs.
Bangladesh)
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2009 was
passed on the 3rd
of March, 2009—now foreign
children having Bangladeshi mothers will
automatically get Bangladeshi citizenship.

19. • A Bangladeshi woman married to a foreigner
cannot still transmit citizenship to her foreign
husband
• A Bangladeshi man can transmit Bangladeshi
citizenship to his foreign wife.....

20. Gender discrimination inconsistent
with the Constitution
• The Appellate Division and the High Court
Division in the cases of
• Dalia Perveen vs Bangladesh Biman 48 DLR
132
Rabia Basri Irene vs. Bangladesh Biman 52 DLR
308

21. • Discrimination in the matter of fixing the age
of retirement of the Stewards and
Stewardesses.
• Gender based discrimination
• Held by the Courts to be Discriminatory and
violative of Article 28 of the Constitution and
therefore not legal.

22. Pro-active Judiciary---PIL
• Public Interest Litigation may be defined as
legal action through the Courts that is
intended to promote the interests of the
public or a large portion of the public...and a
person, on behalf of such group, may
approach the Court.
• Bangladeshi Courts have played a pro-active role and in
several cases upheld the gender based anti-discriminatory
clauses of the Constitution…..

23. • Jatiyo Mahila Ainjibi Samity v Bangladesh and other
(Criminal), 59 DLR, (2007) 447, judgment dated 23
May, 2006:
High Court laid down guidelines which must be
followed in educational institutions and work
places to combat ‘sexual harassment’

24. Mrs.Salma Ali vs. Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and others
WRIT PETITION NO. 212 OF 2000
• The Government Respondents were ordered by the Court to
take several steps to improve the situation of the campus ‘for
improvement of the law and order situation and protection of
the life and liberty of ordinary citizens and women in
particular (italics mine) in the Dhaka City area, particularly,
within the campus of the University of Dhaka and its adjoining
areas’.

25. Shamima Sultana vs. Bangladesh,
57 DLR (2005) 201
• The petitioners in that case, 10 in number, were
elected as Ward Commissioners of Khulna City
Corporation to seats reserved for women. They sued
the Government on the grounds that by certain
administrative actions which had restricted and
curtailed their powers, they had been discriminated
against.

26. The Court held:
• ”In our day-to-day life, in order to forsake
discrimination towards women in real and
practical sense, a mere equal treatment
would not do. The handicaps and
drawbacks inherent in the life of a woman
in our social context must be appreciated.

27. ……As such, a mere equal treatment , in the
juristic sense, would not eradicate the
difficulties and the consequent evils of
inequality faced continuously by a woman
at home and in her daily life, be she a
working lady in an office or a professional ,
her career is always hedged with immense
hurdles

28. and in order to bring her on equal footing
with man, a further leeway of leverage, in
her favour, in order to balance these
hindrances, is required otherwise, the
constitutional commitments to bring in the
fundamental rights of gender equality, as
enshrined in the Constitution, would be a
mockery”

29. Religious law and secularism
• Despite the fact that secularism was considered to
be one of the basic pillars of the identity of
Bangladeshi nationalism at the time of
independence, there was no attempt even at that
stage to introduce uniformity as regards family and
personal matters. Each religious community
therefore continued to be governed by their own
personal laws as regards family matters.

30. Conclusion:
• The Constitution in Article 28 (4) states that
the State shall not be prevented “from making
special provision in favour of women or
children or for the advancement of any
backward section of citizens”.

31. • Many special laws exist to protect women or
to give them additional rights
• Quota systems have been introduced to
ensure women’s participation in various
professions as well as at various stages of
Government service---judiciary, civil service
etc
• Constitution provides for reserved seats for
women.....

32. Question : DO you consider these actions
as Affirmative action/positive
discrimination???????