24 | 2017 1971 assassinated inamilitarycoup. of Bangladesh,andmosthisfamilyare Sheik MujiburRahman,foundingpresident 1975 be marriedinspecialcases. Restraint Actthatpermitsgirlsunder 18to Parliament passestheChildMarriage 2017 police custody. to violence.Atleast112die,including40in BNP protestagainstALgovernmentleads 2015 violence, andbombingsensue. of independence.Large-scaleprotests, Mollah executedforcrimesduringwar Islamist partyleaderAbdulQuader 2014 government. two yearsofmilitary-backedcaretaker Ninth parliamentaryelections,afternearly 2008 month oftheensuingstateemergency. and 29killedbylawenforcementinthefirst Military coup.Over52,000arearrested 2007 Sheikh Hasina. 200, includingformerprimeminister League (AL)rally,killing24andinjuring Islamist groupHuji-BattacksAwami 2004 displaced peopleinCHTbyJanuary2015. continue. Thereare280,000internally signed, butviolenceandBengalisettlement Chittagong HillTractsPeaceAccordis 1997 assassinated inamilitarycoup. Bangladesh NationalistParty(BNP),is Former presidentZiaurRahman,ofthe 1981 in prison. sentencing 15oppositionlawmakerstolife thousands ofactivistsandIslamists AL clampsdownonopposition,arresting 2016

first bombingofaShiitesiteinBangladesh. (IS)affiliateclaimscreditfor 2015 groups. increasingly targetedbyviolentIslamist injures 20.Religiousminoritiesare Catholic churchbombingkillsnineand 2001 tofleeoremigrateIndia. Postelection violenceforcesnearly200,000 2001 parliamentary democracy. End ofmilitarydictatorshipandreturnto 1991 security forces. struggle againstBengalisettlersand of theChittagongHillTractslauncharmed The indigenous,mostlyBuddhist 1976 million deaths. Bangladeshi authoritiesclaimasmany3 War ofindependencefromPakistan. 1971 hostages. . Twenty-eightdie,including 20 IS affiliateattacksHoleyBakery caféin 2016 extremist groupAnsarullahBanglaTeam. First murdersofsecularbloggersbyIslamic 2013 criminal. shops followdeathsentenceforIslamistwar Communal attacksonHinduhousesand 2013 injured. minorities, andhundredsofdead leading toarmedviolence,attackson BNP boycottstenthparliamentaryelections, 2013

Jumma

* Rankingsarebasedonthelast15yearsandrelativetootherAsiancountries. Bangladesh secuted, while the government is unable or unwilling to address the underlying causes. backdrop, communal violence has escalated, and religious minorities continue to be per political this Against country. the in attacks terrorist of targets primary the been have lives of 28 people. Foreigners, secular journalists and bloggers, and religious minorities 2015 alone. In July 2016, Dhaka had one of in its deadliest attacks terrorist terrorist attacks, which 450 took over the had Bangladesh groups. extremist local utilizing ground gaining are al-Qaeda, and State Islamic as such organizations, terrorist Transnational climate and flawed democratic process appear to be feeding violent Islamist extremism. erupted, killing over 140 people between March and June 2016. The polarized political compared to national elections in the past, deadly violence between political opponents candidates in local government elections. Even though local elections had been peaceful after the government amended the law allowing registered political parties to nominate situation. Political rivalry at the national level also affected the local political landscape position protests and the government’s heavy-handed response further exacerbated the the ruling and opposition parties, resulting in over 500 deaths from violent clashes. Op national parliamentary elections in 2014 highlighted the intense political tension between Bangladesh has faced rising political violence and terrorist attacks in recent years. The At a glance a At Overview Low Separatism andautonomy Medium Transnational terrorism High National politicalconflict Absent National civilwar Urban crimeandviolence Medium Local resource conflict High Local politicalandelectoralconflict Medium Communal/ideological conflict Low - -

25 | Bangladesh 26 | Bangladesh mated alowertoll. researchers haveesti died, althoughsomeindependent claim thatasmany as 3 million people national parliamentaryelectionswereheldinDecember2008. of their senior staff. After nearly two years of the military-backed caretaker government, the ninth 52,000 were arrested, over and agencies, enforcement law by killed were people 29 emergency, of state country’s the of month first the In election. general the to prior unrest political widespread following clared de was emergency of state a when 2007, January in place took coup military latest The 1981. in husband) late Zia’s Khaleda leader BNP and president (former Rahman Ziaur and 1975; in father) Hasina’s Sheik Minister Prime and president first (the Rahman Mujibur Sheik state: of ended in massacres of political leaders and their families, including assassinations of two heads by theALwasbiggestinstigatorofviolence( coalition government from 2001 to 2006, taking 2,722 lives. The antigovernment movement led lent clashes with supporters of the ruling party. Political violence intensified during the BNP-led vio to leading streets, the to matters take parties opposition parliament, the in issues debating of Instead power. in is it when other the undermine to tries each and rivals, bitter are parties Bangladesh The military has also played a large role. The country underwent several coups d’état that d’état coups several underwent country The role. large a played also has military The 100 200 00 400 500 600 00

(AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have often led to violence. to led often have (BNP) Party Nationalist Bangladesh the and (AL) League Awami the between tensions 1991, in system parliamentary the of revival Political violence is a major feature of the Bangladeshi political landscape. Since the National politicalconflict authorities Bangladeshi . East of population Bengali the against mainly 1971. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, widespread atrocities were committed, There has been no civil war in Bangladesh since its independence from Pakistan in National civilwar 0 Figure 1. 2001 Source:

1

2002 3 including majority party leaders Sheik Hasina and Khaleda Zia and some

Prepared basedon politicalviolencestatisticsprovided byOdhikar

Fatalityestimatesfrom politicalviolence inBangladesh(2001–2016) 200

2004

2005 2006

200

200

figure 1

2009 2010

). 2011

2012

201

2014

2015 National level

4 2016 2 The - - - because oftheboycottand violence. AL won nearly 80 percent of the parliamentary seats. Voter turnout was a record low 40 percent stations due to violence. day. election on agents Watch, attackers killed three election officials and injured 330 other officials and law enforcement and attacked schools and other buildings serving as polling stations. According to Human Rights to thesecularconstitutionandcancelleditsregistration withtheElectionCommission. pating in the 2014 elections when the High Court ruled that the party’s charter did not conform BNP, was disqualifiedfrompartici ally ofthe country. TheJI, biggest Islam inthe the political in 1971. Violence surrounding the war trials also reflected intense debates over the role of war independence Bangladesh’s during committed for Mollah, Quader Abdul leader, JI senior a of execution the after bombs, crude of use the including violence extensive by marked country, the around protests large-scale staged Shibir, Chhatra Islami organization, student its and Bangladesh, in party Islamic influential most the (JI), party Jamaat-e-Islami the 2014, December In system. democratic country’s the in space legal granted be should Islam political dalism andintimidation. and blockades. Religious and ethnic minority groups, particularly Hindus, were targets for van and public transportation scared ordinary citizens, who suffered from a series of national strikes property on Attacks attacks. the out carry to children street recruited groups opposition cases, some In warning. without streets busy in grenades improvised off set and grenades homemade strations starting in October 2013. In many incidents, opposition groups used petrol bombs and demon and blockades staged groups opposition and BNP the of members boycott, election an elections. the oversee to system government caretaker neutral the of reinstatement ate mechanism for free and fair elections. The BNP and other opposition parties demanded the a disagreement between the AL government and BNP-led opposition groups about the appropri over 500 deaths in 2013 across the country. Ain o SalishKendra, a human rights organization based in Dhaka, reported elections, which took place in January 2014. Months of violence left hundreds dead and injured On election day, and the days that preceded it, opposition activists targeted electoral officials whether about debates and criminals war Islamist of trial the over further rose Tensions Political violence escalated again before, during, and after the tenth national parliamentary 8 9 5 The Election Commission suspended voting in 597 of 18,000 polling 18,000 of 597 in voting suspended Commission Election The A total of 553 schools and educational institutions were damaged. and 62 deaths in the month of January 2014. 6 The violence began with 7 Calling for Calling 10 The - - - -

27 | Bangladesh 28 | Bangladesh and documentsbiasin favoroftheprosecution. executed. Many argue that the rulings have been flawed, with arbitrary limitations on witnesses also was Al, Quasem Mir JI, of leader senior a year, following The 2015. November in executed Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, and a top aide to Khaleda Zia, Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, were leaders for alleged war crimes during the Liberation War of 1971: the general secretary of JI, Ali riorating law and order, and a weak judicial system. The AL has continued to execute opposition as people have lost confidence in the currentpolitical system due towidespread corruption, dete influential due to their better organization and party discipline. Support for them has increased such as the JI to expand their power bases. Some analysts believe that Islamists are increasingly tremists forreligiousviolence. ex Islamic suspected 11,000 over on crackdown a of part as BNP opposition the from activists blockade. BNP-led 2015 the in in the violent protests of 2013, and over 100 BNP members were indicted for their participation For instance, 15 BNP and JI lawmakers were given life sentences over their alleged involvement leaders and members were imprisoned or faced serious charges that could bar them from office. in thefirstquarterof2015duetopoliticalturmoil. agencies. enforcement law of custody the in while killed were activists, opposition mostly whom, of 40 died, people 112 least at and a nationwide blockade. In the first two months of 2015, arsonists attacked nearly 1,200 vehicles, BNP a terrorist organization. BNP head Khaleda Zia was confined inside her office and called for supporters. At least 36 people were killed. AL ignored the demands of the protestors and branded government step down escalated into a violent standoff between the oppositionHasina’s and government Minister Prime that demanding protests large-scale elections, parliamentary tional na tenth the of anniversary the 2015, January In flowed. and ebbed allies its and BNP the by ruling AL resisted calls for fresh elections. Violent clashes and protests against the government law enforcementagenciesfueledwidespreadviolations. of opposition party members and activists were arrested. The impunity enjoyed by Bangladesh’s leaders and activists by security forces before, during, and after the 2014 elections. out widespread, arbitrary arrests. Human Rights Watch documented the killing of 11 opposition crackdown on opposition groups, unlawfully killing dozens of leaders and activists and carrying The bitter political conflict between the AL and the BNP has created space for Islamist parties The ruling party remained in power by clamping down on opponents. Many opposition party the as unrest political experience to continued Bangladesh elections, 2014 the Following The AL government responded to the violence by deploying security forces to launch a brutal 15 14 In June 2016, Bangladeshi police arrested 2,100 leaders and leaders 2,100 arrested police Bangladeshi 2016, June In 12 The World Bank estimated a net loss of USD 2.2 billion 2.2 USD of loss net a estimated Bank World The 16 13 11 Thousands - - - has used force and legal means to combat terrorism, but these groups have continued to exist to continued have groups these but terrorism, combat to means legal and force used has 50. injuring and two killing Airport, International Dhaka and hotels, major synchronized explosions in 63 of the 64 districts of the country, targeting government buildings, 200. injured and people 24 killed that League Awami the of rally public a at attack deadly a out carrying of accused was HuJI-B 2004, August In 2000s. mid the in attacks terrorist of series a after groups these on down cracked initially government The ideals. ’s the follows also and network extensive an has JMB 2005. in government and adopted a constitution that focused on a distinctive Bengali identity, language, and culture. autonomy and protection of traditional lands. The government rejected their demands, however, greater demanded leaders tribal Pakistan, from independence Bangladesh’s After Jumma. the of marginalization economic and political the precipitating outsiders, by area the of settlement British colonial rule. Pakistan withdrew this status and initiated a process of modernization and national census of 2011. the Jumma people, make up around 53 percent of the population in the CHT as estimated by the as known collectively CHT, the of groups tribal The CHT. the in autonomy greater for violently Chattagram Janashonghoti Samity, PCJSS). Between 1976 and 1997, indigenous peoples struggled the growingpresenceofISincountry. militants. six and personnel, forces security two foreigners), (mostly hostages 20 including deaths, 28 in resulting Dhaka, in café Bakery Artisan Holey the attacked ing 80. This was the first time Shiites were targeted in Bangladesh. wound and one killing site, Shiite main a at one bombs, several detonating and foreigners two murdering for responsible be to claimed IS the 2015, In IS. the to allegiance its pledged which attacks, targeting foreigners and religious minorities, through the local Islamic organization, JMB, used tojustifythegovernment’scrackdownagainstitspoliticalopponents. been also have JI the of wing student the to links ABT’s risk. at individuals protect to inability public outrage, underscored the problem of rising violent extremism, and shown the government’s three. injured seriously and bloggers five killed ABT alone, 2015 In follows AQIS, was responsible for attacks and the murders of secular bloggers from 2013 to 2015. Islamic extremist group, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT; also known as Ansar al Islam, AI), that groups are increasing their capabilities in the country by leveraging local terrorist groups. A local as al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Islamic State (IS). HuJI-B and JMB, recent terrorist violence has been linked to transnational terrorist groups such Even though, historically, terrorism in Bangladesh has been carried out by local groups such as deaths. 75 in resulted which 2015, in attacks terrorist 459 had Bangladesh that noted report 22 ranked was Bangladesh even aftermanyoftheirkeyleadershavebeenimprisonedorexecuted. The emergence of the IS in Bangladesh is relatively recent. The group carried out a series of Peace, and Economics for Institute the of Index Terrorism Global 2016 the to According military arm of the United People’s Party of the (Parbattya Tracts Hill Chittagong the of Party People’s United the of arm military a Bahini, Shanti the and forces armed Bangladesh between conflict armed an of site the been have Bangladesh southeastern in (CHT) Tracts Hill Chittagong The Separatism andautonomy Transnational terrorism Bangladesh (JMB). HuJI-B is backed by the Taliban and was officially banned by the such as Harkat-ul--al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen patronage, political under existence into come have groups Islamist violent Some 24 They previously had a special status of limited self-government under nd out of 163 countries in terrorist activities and attacks in 2015. The 2015. in attacks and activities terrorist in countries 163 of out 17 The following year, JMB conducted JMB year, following The 22 21 On July 1, 2016, the group These attacks have stoked have attacks These Subnational level 23 The government denies government The 20 These transnational 18 The government The 19 -

29 | Bangladesh 30 | Bangladesh 100,000 were internally displaced. traditional lands. tention without trial, torture, rape, destruction of houses and property, and forcible occupation of violations, primarily perpetrated by Bangladesh security forces, including unlawful killings, de rights human systematic and widespread reported have organizations rights human and tions about 230 were civilians, primarily Bengali settlers, killed by the Shanti Bahini. The United Na 1997, granting limited autonomy to the elected council of the three hill districts. The Accord The districts. hill three the of council elected the to autonomy limited granting 1997, CHT underarmyprotection aspartofacounterinsurgencystrategy. the to migrate to government the by encouraged were who settlers Bengali by occupied been insurgency. the during killed were people 574 and 502 between estimates Program the ShantiBahiniastheirmilitaryarm. indigenous peoples formed the PCJSS to unite the different tribal groups of the CHT and created In addition, the government started a program to send Bengali settlers to the CHT. In response, The AL-led government and the PCJSS signed the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in Accord Peace Tracts Hill Chittagong the signed PCJSS the and government AL-led The Data Conflict University’s Uppsala to determine. difficult is conflict the of magnitude The 26 During the conflict, approximately 70,000 Jumma fled to , and around 27 Large areas of traditional land vacated by the Jumma have Dhaka CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS 25 Of those, Of - - cle of violence. The media frequently reports clashes in which Jumma and Bengali settlers have settlers have grown, as Bengali settlers continue to flow into the CHT, leading to an ongoing cy promised toinvestigateandresolvelanddisputes. was commission land A rations. and housing, land, of provision the through rehabilitated be to were CHT, the in forests deep to or Bangladesh of parts other to fled had who people displaced internally and India, from returning refugees Jumma councils. District Hill three the ment—to manage land areas—including of range a in responsibility administrative give to was and CHT rights of Jumma people. In addition, it promised the removal of all temporary political army and camps civil, in social, the economic, cultural, the and autonomy promote to reforms promised were recordedbyOdhikar between 2007and2015(table1). fatalities six only rare: previously were Deaths worship. of places and properties of looting and organizations. Islamist violent of rise the and developments political recent to due escalated has them against in theCHT. high level of impunity for sexual and gender-based violence against indigenous women and girls against women were recorded between January 2010 and December 2011. Ministry reported that not a single perpetrator was convicted, even though 215 cases of violence girls from the CHT were victims of gender-based violence between 2007 and 2014. rights organization working on indigenous issues in Bangladesh, humanreported that 290 women and local a Foundation, Kapaeeng reported. not often are cases though even CHT, the in over 90,000Jummafamiliesremainwithoutaccesstotheirtraditionalland. its establishment. Resolution Commission has been dysfunctional and has failed to resolve any land disputes since cabinet to amend the 2001 Act. Due to the prolonged amendment process, the CHT Land Dispute gust 2016, the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act 2016 was finally approved by the also gives indigenous people priority in the recruitment of staff for the land commission. In Au It chairman. the of hands the in solely it placing of instead commission the of members among lution Commission Act 2001 in July 2013. The amendment distributes decision-making authority invasion of their traditional land. The government agreed to amend the CHT Land Dispute Reso CHT. Jumma view the lack of action as government support the for in Bengali order settlers and and law the preserve continued to presence military heavy a maintain to continues government Bangladesh the settlers, Bengali and Jumma between violence ongoing to Due program. tion all temporary military camps in the CHT and resolving land disputes caused by the transmigra Centre (IDMC) estimates that there were 280,000 displaced people in the southeastern CHT. them from returning to their homes. As of January 2015, the Internal Displacement Monitoring down. pendence, a Buddhist temple was vandalized, and more than 50 indigenous homes were burned next to Jumma settlements. Jumma people and burned their houses following a protest against Bengali settlers building huts attacked settlers Bengali when killed was area Sajek the in villager Jumma a 2010, February in been killed and injured and homes destroyed. For example, Amnesty International reports that Since the Peace Accord, tensions over land rights between the Jumma people and Bengali and people Jumma the between rights land over tensions Accord, Peace the Since Violence against indigenous women committed by settlers and the military is also widespread The government has not fully implemented the terms of the Peace Accord, such as removing 29 Ongoing violence has displaced both Jumma and Bengali settlers, and has prevented has and settlers, Bengali and Jumma both displaced has violence Ongoing religious minorities goes back to colonialism and the legacy of Partition, violence Partition, of legacy the and colonialism to back goes minorities religious torture, and displacement. While the marginalization of and discrimination against Religious and ethnic minorities in the country suffer from frequent threats, assaults, Large-scale communalandideologicalconflicts 35 Attacks against religious minorities often lead to injuries and involve grabbing involve and injuries to lead often minorities religious against Attacks 31 A government task force under established the PeaceAccord estimates that 28 On December 16, 2014, the 43rd anniversary of Bangladesh’s inde 36 34 This illustrates the 32 33 The Home 30 ------

31 | Bangladesh 32 | Bangladesh the tortureandphysicalassaultof134indigenousindividuals in2015. across the country. The Kapaeeng Foundation documented at least 13 extrajudicial killings and widespread is communities indigenous against violence Likewise, groups. Islamist violent by local Islamist organizations since the early 1990s. As of 2015, Shia shrines have also been targeted from hostility frequent faced have Bangladesh, in 100,000 numbering community, Ahmadiyya the of Members discrimination. to subject are sects and denominations Islamic other Sunni, is threats, and some were nearly killed. injuries. 20 and deaths nine least at in resulting Bangladesh, south in church Catholic a in exploded bomb a when 2001, 3, June on place took Christians against attack major One groups. Islamist violent by targeted increasingly are tians tensions over land, particularly in the CHT (see the section on separatism and autonomy). Chris less than one percent of the population, experience discrimination and violence due to ongoing February andApril2013. Hindu homes and shops and more than 60 Hindu temples were damaged or destroyed between widespread violence across the country in 2013. Amnesty International reports that at least 300 triggered JI, the of politician former the Sayeedi, Hossain Delwar of judgment sentence death the instance, For criminals. war Islamist of execution and trial the with connection in targeted been have Hindus addition, In down. burned and looted, vandalized, were temples and nesses, migrate toIndia. or areas safer to flee to Hindus 200,000 almost forced 2001 in violence Postelection AL. the of Hindus are often threatened and attacked, because the opposition sees them as the electoral base people inthecountry. indigenous and minorities religious of vulnerability the increased significantly have impunity of culture a and conditions security and political Deteriorating justice. to perpetrators bring to 2008 2009 Total 2007 2010 2014 2012 2013 Year 2015 2011 In general, the police have done little to prevent this violence, and authorities have failed have authorities and violence, this prevent to little done have police the general, In Other religious and ethnic minority groups also face persecution. Buddhists, who represent violence. communal provoked often have elections, national as such events, political Major 6 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 1 Killed Table 1. 38 1,401

502 244 102 107 118 Leading up to and following the 2014 elections, many Hindu homes, busi homes, Hindu many elections, 2014 the following and to up Leading 90 69 78 91 Injured RepressionagainstreligiousminoritiesinBangladesh(2007–2015) 39 16 0 0 0 4 2 2 2 5 1 Assaulted 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Arrested 41 While the majority of the Muslim population in Bangladesh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 7 1 Source: Abducted Grabbing 61 14 12 0 9 6 4 2 7 7 Odhikar Land 40 In 2015, a number of priests received death received priests of number a 2015, In 27 14 0 0 0 4 2 5 1 1

37 House 966 441 371 20 81 21 21 4 2 5 Property Attack 334 125 28 46 24 23 32 25 14 17 Temple 42 636 322 193 121 0 0 0 0 0 0 Idols damaged 54 24 13 0 0 6 4 4 2

1 Looted 30 13 0 0 0 0 6 6 4 1 Miscellaneous 16 0 0 0 0 6 3 5 1 1 Rape - - irregularities, and vote rigging. Activists and supporters of the ruling-party (AL) candidates re violence, widespread by marked were elections The 2015. 30, December on municipalities 234 in lines party on time first the for held were elections local elections, government local contest to parties political allow to Act Government Local the amended government national the After followed by violence against women and children ( children and women against violence by followed Dhaka, in reported crime of form common most the is Theft 4,862. at Chittagong by followed elections andtopreventillegitimateactivitiesbythegovernment. rights organizations believe that the Election Commission has failed to deliver fair and peaceful 143 deaths and many injuries due to violent confrontations between political opponents. local government institutions, which were held in phases from March to June 2016, resulted in of tier lowest the Parishad, Union for elections The 2016. throughout volatile be to continued elections. municipal the of aftermath and to run-up the in injuries the opposition BNP and other political parties. Odhikar documented six deaths and nearly 1,300 of supporters and candidates the against violence and intimidation of acts committed portedly 1000 1500 2000 2500 500 over 7 million people, had the highest number of reported crimes at 19,727 in 2015, of population a with capital, the Dhaka, risen. also have violence and crime urban As Bangladesh has experienced rapid urbanization in metropolitan areas, levels of Urban crimeandviolence in theChittagongHillTracts. rights indigenous over conflict local on section autonomy and separatism the See Local conflictover resources andcommunityrights level. local the at even competition, political in strategy a as and participation political reduce to used increasingly is Violence parties. opposition and party ruling the between clashes retaliatory by characterized is violence electoral Local Local politicalconflictandelectoralviolence 0 Source: urder Dacoity 2010 Prepared basedon statisticsprovided bytheBangladeshPolice Figure 2. Burglary iolence againstwomenandchildren 2011 Dhaka’s crimestatistics(2010–2015) 2012 figure 2 figure 201 ). While the incidence of dacoity, of incidence the While ). Riot 2014 43 The local political climate political local The Theft idnapping 2015 46 Local level 44 Human 45 -

33 | Bangladesh 34 | Bangladesh national homiciderateremainslowat2.6per100,000people. police seizures of illegal explosives, which jumped from 82 incidents in 2010 to 195 in 2015. The in growth the is trend alarming An 2015. and 2010 between cases 26 to three from rose which , and burglary increased. The largest proportional increase was in riot-related crimes, riots, 2015, to 2010 from fell theft and children, and women against violence murder, robbery, and their families continue to make dowry demands throughout the marriage. Women who are men some however, marriage; of time the at settled usually are demands Dowry 1980. of Act similar inruralandurbanareas. percent) did not disclose their experience of intimate partner violence to anyone, (72.7 a women rate that of was majority The percent). (48.5 areas urban in than percent) (51.8 areas rural in and emotional violence. The survey also found that rates of intimate partner violence were higher sexual, physical, of combination a experienced had women married five every in Three spouse. their by violence sexual experienced had one-third Nearly percent). (49.6 violence physical by most common form of intimate partner violence was controlling behavior (55.4 percent), followed spouse. a of hands the at violence experienced had married been ever had who women of three-quarters almost that revealed Statistics, of Bureau Bangladesh the by out carried 2015, Survey Women Against Violence on Report The underreported. significantly is it and ladesh, against women and children in 2015, making it the most prevalent violent crime in Bangladesh. tice system enable such violence. The recorded over 21,000 cases of violence jus criminal corrupt and weak a and practices traditional and norms social patriarchal rooted Dowry-related violence is a root cause of domestic violence, despite the Dowry Prohibition Dowry the despite violence, domestic of cause root a is violence Dowry-related Bang in girls and women against violence of form pervasive most the is violence Domestic 1200 1500 00 600 900 and psychological abuse, dowry-related violence, rape, and early marriage. Deeply face various forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence, physical girls and Women Bangladesh. in common is girls and women against Violence Domestic andgender-based violence

0 2001

2002

Source: 200

Figure 3. 2004

Prepared basedon dataprovided byOdhikar 2005 RapecasesinBangladesh(2001–2016)

2006

200

200

2009

2010

2011

2012

201

49

2014

2015

2016 48 The 47 - - before the age of 18, a decrease from 65 percent in 2011. early teens has declined. The 2014 BDHS found that 59 percent of women aged 20–24 got married mographic and Health Survey (BDHS) indicates that the proportion of women marrying in their De Bangladesh The age. this reaching before married are women of proportion large a but 18, the years,however,fallingfrom822in2012to2062016. committing suicide. Documented cases of dowry-related violence have declined significantly over women, married against violence such of cases 206 reported Odhikar 2016, In death. and attacks, acid medicine, and food of rivation dep burns, cigarette beatings, abandonment, of threats suffer demands those satisfy to unable 18. of age the below children involving two-thirds than more and rapes, gang them of 212 2016, in but victims rarely seek legal redress, due to social stigma. There were 757 reported cases of rape 2017, permittinggirlsyoungerthantheageof18tobemarriedinspecialcases. and women’s organizations, the parliament passed the Child Marriage Restraint Act in February efforts to end child marriage. Despitecriticisms from domestic and international human rights the age of 18. Although early marriage is declining, Bangladesh recently by took birth a given step having backwards 25–49 in aged women of half almost with Bangladesh, in early begins also Childbearing 2014. in years 16.1 to 1993–94 in years 14.4 from increased 20–49 aged women 53 Early marriage remains prevalent. Until recently, the legal age of marriage for women was women for marriage of age legal the recently, Until prevalent. remains marriage Early Rape is one of the most common forms of violence against women and girls in Bangladesh, in girls and women against violence of forms common most the of one is Rape The number of reported rapes has begun to increase again since2009( Thenumberofreportedrapeshasbeguntoincreaseagain 50 with 107 women killed, 94 physically abused, and five and abused, physically 94 killed, women 107 with 51 The median age at first marriage among figure 3 52 ). - -

35 | Bangladesh 36 | Bangladesh 13 12 11 10 9 14 2 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 Notes worldbank.org/curated/en/550801468014652230/ 3, 2015), Bank, World DC: ington, World Bank, 150311112641085.html bloody-blockade-cripples-bangladesh-economy- http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/03/ economy,” Bangladesh cripples blockade “Bloody Chowdhury, Tashfin Syed Ibid., 24. Ibid., 19. Ibid. hrw.org/reports/2014/04/29/democracy-crossfire 3, 2014), Watch, Rights Human York: Pre- andPost-Election PeriodinBangladesh Abusesinthe2014 position ViolenceandGovernment Human Rights Watch, caretaker governmentsystem. the an amendment totheconstitutionthatabolished through push to majority parliamentary its used AL ruling the 2011, June In 2008. and 2001 in transition a caretaker government also managed the elections and ence by the incumbent government. First used in 1996, be held in a free and fair manner without political influ elected government to another so that an election could ern in an interim period during the transition from one The caretaker government system was created to gov deaths-2014-due-political-violence/ 2014, 4, ruary 2014,” January–Feb in Violence Political to due Deaths “68 lence-january-31st-december-2013/ http://www.askbd.org/ask/2014/01/11/political-vio 2014, 11, January website, (ASK) Kendra Salish o Ain 2013,” December January–31st | Violence “Political org/statistics/statistics-on-political-violence/ 2017, 20, February accessed website, “Statistics on Political Violence: 2001–2017,” Odhikar odhikar.org/annual-human-rights-report-2016/ Report 2016 Odhikar, report-on-bangladesh odhikar.org/human-rights-report-2008-odhikar- on Bangladesh Odhikar, approach toIndiaandisopenlypro-Pakistan. hard-line a takes BNP The politics. secular practicing istic, conservative party allied with Islamist parties but national a is BNP The Hindus. Bangladeshi and lims Mus Shiite as such minorities from support drawing party political secular-democratic left, a is AL The articles/PMC2440905/ no. 7659 (2008), programme,” survey nam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health Viet from deaths war violent of years “Fifty Gakidou, Obermeyer, Christopher J. L. Murray, and Emmanuela http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16207201 history,” changed that article The war: “Bangladesh Dummett, Mark www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/27/bangladesh-govern man Rights Watch website, January 27, 2016, Hu Critics,” Down Shuts Government “Bangladesh: Bangladesh-development-update-April-2015 http://www.askbd.org/ask/2014/03/04/68- Human Rights Report 2008: Odhikar report Bangladesh:

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) website, March BangladeshDevelopment Update (Dhaka: Odhikar, 2016), 11, 2016), Odhikar, (Dhaka: (Dhaka: Odhikar, 2009), 14, 2009), Odhikar, (Dhaka: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ BBC News BBC . Democracy Democracy in the Crossfire:Op British Medical Journal . . Aljazeera

AnnualHuman Rights , December 16, 2011, 16, December , , March 13, 2015, 13, March , http://documents. . . http://odhikar. http://www. . https:// . (Wash http:// http:// (New ; Ziad 336, . ------;

​ ​ ​ ​ 20 19 18 17 16 15 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 Infect Bangladesh?” Infect ISIS “Will Ahmad, Jalal Atif and Kugelman Michael Global-Terrorism-Index-2016.2.pdf nomicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ rorism Index: 2016 (IEP), Peace and Economics for Institute asia/4158478.stm 2005, 17, August Bangladesh,” across explode “Bombs 2011.pdf ​ 2015/04/The-State-of-Terrorism-in-Bangladesh- BEI, 2011), 13, the TerrorisminBangladesh:2010–2011 (BEI), Institute Enterprise Bangladesh ing-sheikh-hasina-has-her-way-noose-tightens omist.com/news/asia/21679230-opposition-flounder​ The “Politics and deaths in Bangladesh: the noose tightens,” up-usual-suspects sassinations-provokes-heavy-handed-response-round- www.economist.com/news/asia/21700669-spate-as suspects,” usual the up Round Bangladesh: in arrests “Mass ment​ ChittagongTractsHill Accordof1997 ESC), (UN Council Social and Economic Nations United org/en/library/info/ASA13/021/1986/en Amnesty International, 1986), 13, intheChittagongHillTracts and Torture Amnesty International, Select=6-Central_and_Southern_Asia# ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=12®ion 2015, 5, February accessed website, UCDP Bangladesh,” Encyclopedia: Conflict (UCDP) Program Data Conflict “Uppsala University, Uppsala sponse-required-to-complex-displacement-crisis/ bangladesh/2015/bangladesh-comprehensive-re internal-displacement.org/south-and-south-east-asia/ Displacement Monitoring Centre, 2015), required tocomplexdisplacementcrisis Glatz, Anne-Kathrin pura. Tri and Tachangya, Pangkhua, Mro, Marma, Lushai, Khyang, Khumi, Chakma, Chak, Bawm, CHT: the in vasi CHT are the in peoples indigenous the to refer to terms Other ladesh/ siaforum.org/2017/01/05/countering-terror-in-bang East AsiaForum Iftekharul Bashar, “Countering terror in Bangladesh,” for-attack-in-bangladesh-targeting-shias.html 2015/10/25/world/asia/isis-claims-responsibility- Times, Bangladesh,” in Attack for Responsibility Claims “ISIS Manik. Ali Julfikar and Barry Ellen ladesh-string-violent-attacks-2164004 ibtimes.com/publisher-secular-writings-killed-bang Times Business tional Attacks,” Violent Of String In Bangladesh In Killed Writings Secular Of “Publisher Nordrum, Amy isis-infect-south-asia-14538?page=2 2015,

(first peoples). There are currently 11 tribal groups Economist -​ shuts-down-critics-0 http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/will- Study on the status of implementation ofthe onthestatus ofimplementation Study October 24, 2015, 24, October . . pahari The Economist http://bei-bd.org/wp-content/uploads/ , November 26, 2015, (hill people), , January 5, 2017, 5, January , http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_ . . (Sydney: IEP, 2016), 17, National Interest , October 31, 2015, Bangladesh: Unlawful Killings Bangladesh: Unlawful Killings , January 27, 2016, 27, January , http://www.nytimes.com/ Comprehensive response Comprehensive . upajati http://www.amnesty. http://www.easta​ . (tribals), and http://www.econ . (E/C.19/2011/6) . , December 8, December , http://www. . http://www. http://www. The Stateof BBC News . Global Ter New YorkNew (Internal http://eco (London: (Dhaka: Interna​ . http:// . 2010- adi . - - - - , ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 31 30 29 28 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 August 22, 2016, 22, August website, IPHRD Accord,” CHT of process mentation imple the to Government the of effort bold a Act: Commission Land CHT of amendment “Bangladesh: Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders (IPHRD), Ibid. Glatz, www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA13/005/2013/en 20, 2013), International, Amnesty (London: RightsDenied inBangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts Amnesty International, search/view_doc.asp?symbol=E/C.19/2011/6 2011), UNESC, York: (New 2015-odhikar-report/ 2017, 26, port Odhikar, MRG, asia/1367073.stm 2001, 3, June nine,” kills bomb church “Bangladesh 002/2014/en http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA13/ 2014, 2, February website, International Amnesty community,” Hindu minority the protect must ment Govern Statement–Bangladesh: “Public Faiz, Abbas -increasingly-at-risk-of-displacement-country-en.pdf /2006/200603-ap-bangladesh-bangladesh-minorities www.internal-displacement.org/assets/publications displacement Bangladesh: minorities increasingly at risk of (IDMC), Centre Monitoring Displacement Internal Odhikar website. Minority,” Religious against Repression on “Statistics statistics-on-repression-against-religious-mi​ cessed February 24, 2017, 2007–2017 (January–February),” Odhikar website, ac Minority: Religious against Repression on “Statistics MRG_Rep_Ban_Oct16_ONLINE.pdf minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ Bangladesh in ities Under threat:the challenges facing minor religious percent. Minority Rights Group International (MRG), 0.1 others and percent, 0.3 Christian percent, 0.6 Buddhist percent, 8.5 Hindu percent, 90.4 Muslim is According to the 2011 census, the religious breakdown search-pubs?publication_id=679 fairs, 2014), 37–8, (Dhaka: International Work Group for Indigenous Af against women and girls inthe Chittagong HillTracts Bina D’Costa, unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/John%20Tripura.pdf (Dhaka: Kapaeeng Foundation, 2016), 126, 2015onIndigenousPeoplesinBangladesh Report and trafficking. Kapaeeng Foundation, assault, attempted rape, abduction, sexual harassment, physical murder, by followed rape rape, gang rape, include women against violence of cases Reported Amnesty International, ment-implementation-process-cht-accord/ desh-amendment-cht-land-commission-act-govern 2015 Foundation, Kapaeeng See (Dhaka: Odhikar, 2016), 6-7, accessed February accessed 6-7, 2016), Odhikar, (Dhaka: , 44. Comprehensive responserequired Under Threat Municipality Elections 2015: Odhikar Re http://odhikar.org/municipality-​ . Marginalisation and Impunity: Violence Marginalisation andImpunity: Violence (Geneva: IDMC, 2006), 21, 2006), IDMC, (Geneva: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_ . http://www.iwgia.org/publications/ http://iphrdefenders.net/bangla (London: MRG, 2016), 7, 2016), MRG, (London: , 13. . Pushed to the Edge: Indigenous Indigenous Edge: the to Pushed Pushed totheEdge http://odhikar.org/sta​ http://www.un.org/ga/ Human Rights Report . . Human Rights Human . BBC News http://dtp. . , 26. elections- nority/ . http:// http:// http:// tistics/ . ------. , . . ​ ​

​ ​ ​ ​ 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 53 law will ‘reduce minimum marital age to zero,’” to age marital minimum ‘reduce will law New marriage: child “Bangladesh Dearden, Lizzie https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR311/FR311.pdf 41–42, 2016), International, ICF and Associates, and 2014 tional, Interna ICF and Associates, and Mitra (NIPORT), National Institute of Population Research and Training Odhikar, statistics-on-violence-against-women/ cessed February 27, 2017, ac website, Odhikar 2001–2017,” Rape “Statistics bangladesh%20vaw%20survey%202015.pdf media/files/un%20women/vaw/vaw%20survey/ 2016), Violence Against WomenSurvey2015 (BBS), Statistics of Bureau Bangladesh Ibid. February 2, 2016, “Crime Statistics,” Bangladesh Police website, accessed armed groups. Dacoity 2016, Odhikar, Odhikar, un-a7619051.html law-minimum-age-zero-reduce-baby-marital-unicef- co.uk/news/world/asia/bangladesh-child-marriage- dependent (Dhaka and Rockville, Maryland: NIPORT, Mitra 7. Bangladesh DemographicandHealthSurvey http://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/-/ is a Bengali term for banditry—robbery by banditry—robbery for term Bengali a is Annual HumanRightsReport2016 Annual HumanRightsReport2016 Bangladesh , March 8, 2017, 8, March , http://www.police.gov.bd/index.php .

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