Negotiating gender-equal inheritance rights: the rise of Islamic politics and the global feminist landscape in Bangladesh

Inheritance rights in Bangladesh are a highly contested issue. These are interpreted differently in the two major religions in Bangladesh, Islam and Hinduism. Using the concepts of ‘legal pluralism’ and ‘feminist institutionalism’, we aim to understand different contestations and debates and the multiplicity of practices in these religions on this issue. Such contestation challenges the formulation of gender-equal inheritance policies in Bangladesh. In this article, we identify the major actors involved in policy formulation and investigate the key factors and events that led the state to formulate such policy and, later, to withdraw it. Based on a qualitative case-study method, we observe that gender-equal inheritance rights provision depends on multiple political factors and events. On the one hand, the international mandate of ensuring gender equality coupled with local and international donors’ support influenced the formulation of equal inheritance rights provision in the National Women’s Development Policy (NWDP). On the other hand, opposition from Islamic fundamentalist parties created tension in formulating such policy and, in the face of violent opposition, the government feared being framed as ‘anti-Islamic’ and withdrew the equal inheritance rights policy in Bangladesh in the policy formulation stage.