Md Al- Ifran Hossain Mollah | Independent University, Bangladesh (original) (raw)
Papers by Md Al- Ifran Hossain Mollah
International Journal on Minority and Group Rights , 2020
Hindu women's limited right to inheritance in Bangladesh is a story of state-sponsored deprivatio... more Hindu women's limited right to inheritance in Bangladesh is a story of state-sponsored deprivation; a frustrating legacy of the political authority's systematic indifference and failure in protecting minority women's right to property for nearly half a century. Bangladesh, from its early decades, has experienced the resurgence of religion as one of the driving factors behind gender and minority-sensitive policy formulation and implementation. Under the veil of constitutional secularism, religion has become one of the most pervasive tools in the hands of the political authorities for methodical marginalisation of religious minority groups especially of Hindu community. Consequently, Bangladesh has failed to move forward with appropriate legislative measures for improving the present status of Hindu women's right to property. This article argues that the underlying reasons behind such failure is intrinsically intertwined with power-centric electoral politics rather than normative socio-religious practices.
Society and Change, 2014
Property rights of women under Hindu religious system have fairly been considered an issue of con... more Property rights of women under Hindu religious system have fairly been considered an issue of conflicting discourse both from domestic as well as global perspective. Restrictions imposed by Religio-legal as well as socio-cultural norms and practices have embedded the discriminatory level of treatment in more deep rooted dimension for Hindu women as to property rights. This controversy has been excelled with the pressure of global community for establishing a fair and equal property rights while assessing the feasibility and implications of universal rights regime disregard of religious or cultural differences. In the course of time, intervention of legislative authority for improvising present situation and to make the whole rights regime at national level to synchronize with universal rights framework through the amendment of existing domestic laws has proved to be successful. Nevertheless, in the context of practical enforcement, bringing the equilibrium of justice in between religious command and secular authority has created double jeopardy for the legislative authority. In this backdrop, the theory of cultural relativism has been resorted to eliminate the standoff between religious norms & practices of a particular community and the demand of global community for fair and equal treatment of all. Cultural relativists have been heavily criticized for being too defensive as against the principle of universality and supporting discrimination and abuse of human rights in different circumstances. Hence, it is essential to revisit the role of Religio-legal, universal and socio-cultural theory and practices in establishing the domain of equal status of right to property for Hindu women.
International Human Rights Law Review, 2020
Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural (esc) rights has been a long drawn contested topi... more Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural (esc) rights has been a long drawn contested topic in the legal discourse of Bangladesh. Though the emancipation from social and economic exploitation was one of the driving factors behind the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation, esc rights are not adequately protected under its Constitutional framework and have received scant judicial protection. Despite the coming into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-icescr) in 2013 and the mounting pressure from global community, Bangladesh seems to have made an unflinching vow of continuing the legacy of denial towards judicial enforcement of esc rights. This article examines the feasibility of ratifying the OP-icescr for Bangladesh.
International Journal of Legal Information, 2016
Access to justice is one of the significant prerequisites for sustainable human development and i... more Access to justice is one of the significant prerequisites for sustainable human development and it has been made available in the form of both the formal and informal systems stretching from the very top of the judiciary to the local justice system in Bangladesh. The formal justice system, even though it plays the most pivotal role, has been facing huge pressure from case backlogs, which ultimately hampers the true spirit of justice. On the other hand, most people's perception towards informal justice system is also fairly poor with lack of trust due to partisan political interference, corruption, religious dogmas, and social elitism, which have made this system almost ineffective. Consequently, state-sponsored local justice system has come forward with a view to combining the both streams in a single channel in the form of restorative justice and a quorum of quasi-formal justice system aimed at ensuring and dispensing justice to the people in rural areas in an affordable and convenient manner. In line with this view, village courts have been established to redress petty civil and criminal issues. This article attempts to examine the feasibility of the present legal framework of village courts to deliver justice efficiently at the grassroots level.
International Journal on Minority and Group Rights , 2020
Hindu women's limited right to inheritance in Bangladesh is a story of state-sponsored deprivatio... more Hindu women's limited right to inheritance in Bangladesh is a story of state-sponsored deprivation; a frustrating legacy of the political authority's systematic indifference and failure in protecting minority women's right to property for nearly half a century. Bangladesh, from its early decades, has experienced the resurgence of religion as one of the driving factors behind gender and minority-sensitive policy formulation and implementation. Under the veil of constitutional secularism, religion has become one of the most pervasive tools in the hands of the political authorities for methodical marginalisation of religious minority groups especially of Hindu community. Consequently, Bangladesh has failed to move forward with appropriate legislative measures for improving the present status of Hindu women's right to property. This article argues that the underlying reasons behind such failure is intrinsically intertwined with power-centric electoral politics rather than normative socio-religious practices.
Society and Change, 2014
Property rights of women under Hindu religious system have fairly been considered an issue of con... more Property rights of women under Hindu religious system have fairly been considered an issue of conflicting discourse both from domestic as well as global perspective. Restrictions imposed by Religio-legal as well as socio-cultural norms and practices have embedded the discriminatory level of treatment in more deep rooted dimension for Hindu women as to property rights. This controversy has been excelled with the pressure of global community for establishing a fair and equal property rights while assessing the feasibility and implications of universal rights regime disregard of religious or cultural differences. In the course of time, intervention of legislative authority for improvising present situation and to make the whole rights regime at national level to synchronize with universal rights framework through the amendment of existing domestic laws has proved to be successful. Nevertheless, in the context of practical enforcement, bringing the equilibrium of justice in between religious command and secular authority has created double jeopardy for the legislative authority. In this backdrop, the theory of cultural relativism has been resorted to eliminate the standoff between religious norms & practices of a particular community and the demand of global community for fair and equal treatment of all. Cultural relativists have been heavily criticized for being too defensive as against the principle of universality and supporting discrimination and abuse of human rights in different circumstances. Hence, it is essential to revisit the role of Religio-legal, universal and socio-cultural theory and practices in establishing the domain of equal status of right to property for Hindu women.
International Human Rights Law Review, 2020
Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural (esc) rights has been a long drawn contested topi... more Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural (esc) rights has been a long drawn contested topic in the legal discourse of Bangladesh. Though the emancipation from social and economic exploitation was one of the driving factors behind the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation, esc rights are not adequately protected under its Constitutional framework and have received scant judicial protection. Despite the coming into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-icescr) in 2013 and the mounting pressure from global community, Bangladesh seems to have made an unflinching vow of continuing the legacy of denial towards judicial enforcement of esc rights. This article examines the feasibility of ratifying the OP-icescr for Bangladesh.
International Journal of Legal Information, 2016
Access to justice is one of the significant prerequisites for sustainable human development and i... more Access to justice is one of the significant prerequisites for sustainable human development and it has been made available in the form of both the formal and informal systems stretching from the very top of the judiciary to the local justice system in Bangladesh. The formal justice system, even though it plays the most pivotal role, has been facing huge pressure from case backlogs, which ultimately hampers the true spirit of justice. On the other hand, most people's perception towards informal justice system is also fairly poor with lack of trust due to partisan political interference, corruption, religious dogmas, and social elitism, which have made this system almost ineffective. Consequently, state-sponsored local justice system has come forward with a view to combining the both streams in a single channel in the form of restorative justice and a quorum of quasi-formal justice system aimed at ensuring and dispensing justice to the people in rural areas in an affordable and convenient manner. In line with this view, village courts have been established to redress petty civil and criminal issues. This article attempts to examine the feasibility of the present legal framework of village courts to deliver justice efficiently at the grassroots level.