CHRI Report on Women in police in Bangladesh

ESCR-net member Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative published a report critically examining the situation of women in policing in Bangladesh. It is based on the premise that gender equality, besides being a value to be upheld in and of itself, is a vital attribute for effective and genuinely impartial law enforcement. At its core, the report champions the inclusion of women in policing on the utilitarian ground that in today’s policing the maximum police functions can be performed by either gender and there is little to support the myth that policing is a ‘man’s work’ alone.

In the first study of its kind, this Bangladesh-specific report titled Rough Roads to Equality: Women Police in Bangladesh concentrates on the situation of women in policing in Bangladesh. It highlights the value of diversity in policing in Bangladesh, points out the diversity deficit as regards gender and recommends measures to repair it. The report, which provides survey findings and documents experiences and challenges faced by women police, along with recommendations, will be of utility to the Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh Police and civil society to inform the current debates around improving the gender balance within the police.

CHRI believes that sincere efforts to address gender discrimination and further gender equity will be the harbinger for broader reforms in policing that can fulfill modern mandates.

Download the report here.