Mimbar Keadilan
Vol. 19 No. 2 (2026): Agustus 2026

Eclipsed Justice: The Dissonance between Constitutional Textuality and Legal Reality for Women in Bangladesh

Md. Abdul Mannan Bhuyean (University of Information Technology and Sciences, Bangladesh)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Aug 2026

Abstract

In Bangladesh, despite the constitutional promise of gender equality, women continue to face significant structural inequalities. The law, while formally recognizing women’s rights, often fails to materialize in practice, creating a gap between legal norms and social realities. This article seeks to explore the disjunction between the legal texts that guarantee gender equality and the persistent discrimination experienced by women, focusing on unequal access to social and economic justice as well as legal protections that do not lead to genuine empowerment. This study employs a doctrinal legal research method with a critical theoretical approach, specifically feminist legal theory and critical justice theory. The author critiques the Bangladeshi legal system, which continues to operate within a masculine and patriarchal framework, both in its constitutional domain and criminal law. The main findings reveal that although statutes such as the Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act (2000) and the Anti-Dowry Act (1980) provide legal safeguards, women remain marginalized by procedural and structural inequities. The existing legal system is not sufficiently transformative to ensure substantive justice for women. Hence, a more inclusive and transformative legal approach is required to realize genuine equality.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

mimbarkeadilan

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

Mimbar Keadilan is published by the Law Faculty Laboratory of Law Faculty, University of August 17, 1945, Surabaya. First published in 1996 and up to now there are as many as two editions per year. This journal gives readers access to download journal entries in pdf file format. Mimbar Keadilan is ...