Shifting Terrains: Contemporary Backlash and Feminist Resistance in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is lauded for its success in gender equality gains despite the lack of resources and deep-seated patriarchal norms. Women’s rights groups and gender policy advocates inside the state have played a key role in this process. With the rise of a more militant Islamic platform coupled with a shift towards dominant party system and democratic backslide, these gains are at risk. In this paper, I compare three policy areas (sex education policy, child marriage restraint act reform, inheritance rights policy) where policy reversals have occurred in different degrees and ask the following questions. How did these reversals take place- who are the main actors, and drivers of backlash of backlash? How are feminists and (pro gender equality coalitions) organising to resist these changes? What kinds of lessons can we draw on from the policy cases/ and Bangladesh for the rest of South Asia? By analysing these policy cases, I show how manifestation of backlash is different in each of the cases. I also examine the strategies used by the oppositional actors - especially how progressive feminist language is co-opted by them to reframe demands. I compare the how the pathways for resistance varies for feminists and their allies depending on the nature of the policy case and contextual factors. These pathways include creation of counter narratives, use of informal networks to influence policy discussions, and various performative strategies. I also reflect on whether these pathways remain effective – as shift take place both within the feminist movement along intersectional lines and in the wider political arena with the closure of space for dissent, increased state surveillance.