Human Rights

To understand the extent to which human rights have been upheld in Bangladesh, respondents were asked to comment on four relevant human rights issues.

Extra-judicial killings by security forces
About 50 percent of respondents stated that such killings have decreased during the tenure of this Government; 37 percent disagreed. This points to a perceived improvement in the human rights situation.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements on human rights issues?

Incidents of disappearances or intimidation of opposition members, political activists, labor rights activists or journalists
34 percent of respondents believe such incidents have decreased while 43 percent believe these have increased. In the perception of people, therefore, political harassment continues in Bangladesh in violation of human rights.

Working conditions of industrial workers
On this issue, a majority of respondents (60%) believe that industrial workers are forced to work in poor and often hazardous working conditions. This is again a major violation of human rights affecting industrial workers.

Violence against women including domestic violence, sexual harassment, acid attacks and illegal punishments through fatwas
A majority of respondents (54%) consider that such violence is continuing due to weak implementation of existing laws and judicial guidelines. This is a human rights violation that needs to be speedily corrected by the Government.
Another aspect of human rights is the right to give opinions on national or local political issues in any locality. About 75 percent of respondents believe that they can express their opinions on national or local political issues in the localities where they live. There is uniformity of perceptions regarding this among all respondent categories.

Do you feel free to express political opinions in the locality where you live?
(% of people saying "yes")

Previous Surveys...