Justice must not be a distant promise; it must be something every woman and girl can rely on in her daily life.

As we enter another political transition, it may be helpful to reflect on some of the opportunities for building a justice system that is inclusive, that reflects the diversity of our population, including in terms of sex, ethnicity, disability and religion, and that can strengthen the recognition and realisation of women’s rights.

Laws, however, only matter if they work for survivors. Justice must be visible, accessible and humane.

Specialised courts remain one of the most important mechanisms for addressing crimes against women and children, but meaningful reform is urgently needed.

Women’s economic participation remains visibly constrained by informal employment, limited social protection, and workplace harassment. Approximately 96 per cent of female workers are engaged in the informal sector, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation and economic instability.

Bangladesh has made important progress in reforming its labour law. Yet gender gaps persist not only in the law's text but also in its structure and implementation. From unequal maternity standards and reduced benefit calculations to procedural ambiguities in harassment cases, weak enforcement of union representation provisions, and structural discrimination in certain sectors, significant challenges remain.

Across rural Bangladesh, thousands of women contribute daily to farming, fishing, and resource management. They cultivate crops, rear livestock, mend nets, process fish, and manage household economies. But when it comes to formal access to public land, wetlands, and agricultural credit, they remain largely invisible.

Bangladesh stands at a moment it calls renewal, yet women remain marginal to its authorship. From Parliament to panels, men continue to speak for the nation, while women remain an afterthought.

Unfortunately, for centuries, once a woman experiences violence, the first point of discussion will be whether the woman in question was a 'good' or a 'bad' woman.

If Bangladesh is serious about women’s empowerment, it must build a comprehensive victim-centric support system in matters of sexual harassment and other gender-based violence.

The concern most widely shared among Indigenous populations in opposing women's inheritance of land centres on the increasing instances of exogamous marriages in the CHT.

Grey areas remain. Deepfake content is recognised, but victims often lack recourse under copyright law because they do not “own” the manipulated material. Section 17 addresses harmful AI outputs, yet identifying the origin of automated, AI-driven harassment remains technically complex.

The prospect of societal advancement while keeping women outside the mainstream of development is simply unrealistic.

Across every region of the country, within families of many different communities, classes, and professions, countless individuals are being subjected to physical and psychological violence. What follows is a brief attempt to outline the legal framework governing marriage, divorce, maintenance, and child guardianship under the laws currently in force in Bangladesh.

Many of the mother tongues spoken by Adivasi and other smaller ethnic communities are at risk of extinction.

At present, Kokborok has very limited written and literary development in Bangladesh.

On International Mother Language Day, the story of the Bawm language in Bangladesh stands as both a testament to resilience and a warning of fragility.

When this correspondent visited Saura Palli in Rajghat Union on Monday, the frail elder whispered only a few words in his native tongue: “If I die, the language will die. Please take initiative to save my mother tongue before I die. My identity lives in this language.”

For generations, this heritage thrived as an oral masterpiece, surviving without a formal indigenous script.

Official recognition remains vague, often buried under larger language labels.