I chose Bangladesh because the name is familiar to me but I do not know much about the country itself. I knew that it was situated in South Asia, which is a region that I did not get the opportunity to focus on in high school besides a few moments of Indian history.
Welcome to Bangladesh
Located between India and Burma lies People’s Republic of Bangladesh (Bangladesh), a South Asian nation state home to over 157 million people. The majority of Bengalis are Muslim (89%), with a significant Hindu (10%) presence, as well as a small amount of other religions such as Buddhist and Christian. The most popular occupations in Bangladesh are in Agriculture (42%), followed by Services (36.9%) and Industry (20%). Bangladesh’s GDP per capita in 2017 was $4,200. About a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line- an unfortunate but realistic feature considering that the majority (42%) of Bengalis work in agriculture, a sector that only makes up 14.2% of the GDP.
Bangladesh has access to natural resources such as gas, arable land, timber, and coal, as well as is situated on the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems. About 70% of the land is used for agriculture. Apart from the convenience of access to large water sources and the ideal tropical climate for agriculture, these same features also serve as obstacles as many areas are prone to floods and summer monsoons. Since the rivers don’t reach all parts of the country and there is a lack of effective water systems, many parts of Bangladesh, primarily in Northern Bangladesh, experience water shortages and drought.
Bangladesh’s location in between India and Burma has resulted in long term territorial and immigration issues. For decades, Bangladesh has struggled to establish their maritime boundary claims with Burma and India. The few attempts to set such boundaries, such as the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement, were never enacted. Since the 1990’s, Bangladesh has hosted Burmese refugees, a number which has grown from about 200,000 to the 900,000 that are there today.
Government in Bangladesh/ Freedom Rating explained
Bangladesh is categorized as a parliamentary republic- a state that has an executive power elected through the legislature’s vote. Bangladesh has a freedom rating of 4/7, a result of 4/7 for both the political rights and civil liberties.
Political Rights
In general, the rules and laws in Bangladesh allow for a considerable amount of political and civil freedom, however its implementation in a somewhat conservative and elitist state combined with a lack of efficient regulation makes it difficult for proper execution. For example, the two-party political system has been (currently Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Bangladesh Awami League) led by the same political elite Bengali families since the country’s independence. There can be third parties, which are usually weak because of a lack of popularity, but none are allowed to have a religious basis. For example, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami was banned from participation in the 2014 elections because of their Islamist charter. Significant parties that oppose the two parties have been met with harassment and arrest- thus indicating a lack of real political freedom.
Members of parliament are directly voted for by the public. Even then, discrimination toward religious minorities, women, and the LGBT also leaves them underrepresented in government. The government is flooded with corruption, criminality, political polarization, and lacks transparency, which allows for the lack of government accountability.
Civil Liberties
Similarly to political rights, civil liberties are relatively open in concept, but societal pressures and a lack of effective regulation allow for its limitation.
Most forms of expression, such as media, religion, academia, and speech are allowed in the constitution/law, but have pressures from groups and individuals that ensure that it continues to abide by the status quo. For example, art is consistently banned or censored. The state is secular, but the majority is Muslim and other religions are often discriminated against. There is a right to assembly as well as talking about politics, but normally gatherings of over 5 are banned, and excessive tensions between political groups make such acts extremely violent.
Looking Ahead
I believe that the law in Bangladesh itself has enough flexibility to allow for a free country, but there must be a mobilization of social movements to ensure that the minorities and oppressed groups currently shunned by Bengali society are represented. The government should also put in more efforts to regulate their own groups and policies- an effort that has been tactfully/purposefully overlooked in order to secure their own political power. I think that the assumptions I’ve made are also too confident for the limited amount of research I’ve done, but I look forward to learning more about Bangladesh and following their news for significant change throughout the semester.
Works Cited
“The World Factbook: BANGLADESH.” Central Intelligence Agency. September 19, 2018. Accessed September 29, 2018. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html
“The World Factbook: BANGLADESH.” Central Intelligence Agency. September 19, 2018. Accessed September 29, 2018. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html.