The objective of this dissertation is to present a coordination of conflicting dynamics of the legal framework for women’s land rights in Bangladesh along with the consequential factors that generate discrimination among male and female. The constitution of Bangladesh has confirmed equal rights for all citizens without discriminating religion and gender, but the prevailing legislation for land and inheritance law has failed to ensure equality and justice. The ethnical groups in Bangladesh are Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and other minorities; all of them are individually religion biased inheritance law, which have deprived and discriminated women. Such religion based inheritance laws are not only conflicting with the constitutional principles, but also violated the constitutional supremacy.
This study identified that the introducers of the religions are the representative of patriarchy and they kept their gender interest on land by depriving and discriminating the females. The common consent of all the religions are the discrimination between male and female for land rights is a universal norms made by the God, they would like to validate their favouritism and inequity by keeping provision of getting equal heavenly glory in the eternity for females who obey religion orders. The women’s advancement in education and knowledge has given them sense, that life out of life does not carry any meaning, they demand equal rights in the earth- not to the heaven.
This study also acknowledged that no religion based inheritance law could ensure women’s equal property rights; thus, it is essential to introduce uniform property law for all citizens of Bangladesh based on gender equality that the original constitutional principal ensured regardless to the class, colour, race, and ethnic group.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.1 Introduction:
1.2 Background of the Problem:
1.3 Rationale for the Research:
1.4 Research Question and Objectives
1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study:
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Constitutional Supremacy in Bangladesh:
2.1.1 Constitutional Supremacy: The Missing Norms of Practice:
2.1.1.1 Postponement of Constitution with Martial Law:
2.1.1.2 Legalising Martial Law by Amending Constitution:
2.1.2 Fundamental Principles of the Constitution:
2.1.3 Human rights and Social Justice:
2.1.4 Equality of Male and Female under Constitution:
2.2 Legal Framework for Women’s Property Rights and Inequalities: -
2.2.1 Islamic Outlook towards Female:
2.2.1.1 Rigidity & Flexibility of Islamic Land Tenure:
2.2.1.2 Voice of Women in the Early Islam:
2.2.2 Male Dominating Muslim Property Law and Inequalities:
2.2.3 Sanaton Outlook towards Female:
2.2.4 Hindu Family Law and Depressing On Female:
2.2.5 Highly Patriarchal Polygamy and Women’s Rights:
2.2.6 Outlook towards Female of Other Small Ethnic Groups:
2.2.7 Property Rights of Small Ethnic Groups
2.3 Unified Women’s Property Rights In Bangladesh:
2.3.1 The Feminist Movement in Bangladesh for Equal Property Rights:
2.3.2 Present Government’s National Women Development Policy:
2.3.3 Protest from the Religious Radicalisms:
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction:
3.2 Research design:
3.3 Quantitative research:
3.4 Qualitative research:
3.5 Primary Sources: -
3.6 Secondary Data Source:
3.7 Types of Interview:
3.8 Questionnaire Surveys:
3.9 Questionnaire Design:
3.10 Advantages of questionnaire survey:
3.11 Analysis and Interpretation of Data:
3.12 Reliability, Validity, and Representativeness:
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND RESULTS
Section A: (About respondents)
Section B:
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
5.1 Discrimination and Torment on Female
5.2 Women’s Advancement in Education
5.3 Women’s Leadership in Bangladesh
5.4 Globalisation and Women in Bangladesh:
5.5 Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh:
5.6 Without Equal Property Rights No Women’s Empowerment is Possible
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION
6.1 Key Recommendations:
6.2 Conclusion: -
Research Objectives and Themes
The dissertation aims to explore the conflicting legal dynamics surrounding women's land rights in Bangladesh, examining how religious-based inheritance laws contribute to gender discrimination and violate constitutional principles, with the ultimate objective of advocating for a unified, gender-equal property law.
- The conflict between constitutional guarantees of equality and prevailing religion-based inheritance laws.
- The systemic patriarchal barriers preventing women's equal access to property.
- The impact of women's socioeconomic and educational advancement on their demand for equal rights.
- The role of political and religious radicalism in opposing legal reforms for women's empowerment.
Extract from the Book
2.2.2 Male Dominating Muslim Property Law and Inequalities:
Sait and Lim (2005) states that Muslim women's lesser rights in inheritance, under the Islamic compulsory succession rules, have long regarded as a marker of the inferior status of women under Islamic law. A number of groups are present that support the view that man spend out of their property for the support of woman. The argument continues to the effect that women have no concomitant financial obligations. Doumani (1998) pointed that Muslims often argue there are other ways for obtaining property, such as gifts, dower, and maintenance in marriage and as beneficiaries under a trust/endowment (waqf) which could be part of a gender property rights compensatory scheme (Bhatnagar, 1992).
Ali (2010) argues that Muslim woman’s access to property could be better understand through the dynamics of custom, family, kinship and the construction of property itself. Conservative interpretations of Islamic law and customary/traditional structures/practices often combine to diminish or altogether extinguish women’s rights to property. Carroll (2001) stated that a prime example is the recourse to or the customary practice of renunciation (tanazul) of even the reduced female inheritance share in favour of a male member of the family, such as a brother or son.
According to the Muslim Law, there are three kinds of heirs (Professor, 2011). Firstly, ‘sharer’ who is entitled to a prescribed share of the inheritance, secondly, ‘residuary’, who succeed to the residue left after satisfying the claims of the sharers, and thirdly, ‘distant kindred’, who are blood relations and succeed generally in the absence of sharers and residuary (Esposito, 1982). In the classification of the heirs, it is important to note that though the son's son and son's daughter have been made residuary and sharer respectively, daughter's children have been made distant kindred (Ahmed, 1992).
Summary of Chapters
CHAPTER ONE: PROBLEM STATEMENT: This chapter introduces the thesis, highlighting the conflict between constitutional rights and religious-based land laws in Bangladesh, while outlining research questions and scope.
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW: This chapter provides a chronological overview of constitutional supremacy and examines various religious-based inheritance laws, arguing that they foster gender inequality.
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY: This chapter details the mixed-method research design, including data collection and analytical approaches used to investigate the legal framework and women's perceptions.
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND RESULTS: This chapter presents and interprets the primary data gathered through questionnaire surveys, analyzing responses on legal, social, and economic issues.
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION: This chapter discusses the prevalence of gender-based discrimination and violence, linking women's education and leadership to the broader necessity of equal property rights for empowerment.
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION: This chapter concludes that unified property law is essential for gender equality and provides recommendations for legislative reform and awareness-building.
Keywords
Bangladesh Constitution, Women’s Rights, Property Rights, Inheritance Law, Gender Equality, Islamic Law, Legal Framework, Women’s Empowerment, Social Justice, Constitutional Supremacy, Patriarchy, Socioeconomic Growth, Feminist Movement, Unified Property Law, Religious Radicalism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this dissertation?
The dissertation primarily examines the conflicting legal framework in Bangladesh concerning women's land property rights and how this conflict hinders women's equality and national development.
What are the central themes of the research?
The research centers on constitutional supremacy, the influence of religious-based inheritance laws on gender discrimination, and the necessity for a unified property code.
What is the primary objective of this study?
The objective is to identify the conflicting dynamics in the existing legal framework and to provide a rationale for introducing a uniform property law based on gender equality.
Which research methodology is applied?
The research employs a mixed-method approach, utilizing both qualitative legal analysis and quantitative questionnaire surveys to gather empirical evidence.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body covers literature reviews of existing laws, the methodology of the empirical study, detailed findings from surveys, and a discussion on the link between property rights and women's empowerment.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Bangladesh Constitution, women's property rights, inheritance law, gender equality, patriarchy, and legal unification.
How does the author view the role of religion in land rights?
The author argues that while religious principles are often cited for maintaining traditional family roles, they are frequently used by patriarchal structures to deprive women of their legal inheritance and socioeconomic standing.
What is the author's stance on the 15th Constitutional Amendment?
The author suggests that the 15th Amendment, by maintaining elements of state religion alongside secular principles, complicates the legal landscape and fails to fully resolve the dilemmas facing women's rights in the country.
What recommendation is provided for NGOs and the government?
The author recommends that the government prioritize a uniform family/property code, and that NGOs move beyond commercial interests to genuinely advocate for women's land rights as a human rights issue.
- Quote paper
- Nasima Talukder Monmoon (Author), 2011, The Conflicting Legal Framework of Bangladesh. An Evidence of Women's Property Rights That Demands Unification Without Discriminating Race or Ethnic Groups, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/924694
