Analysis of Voice and Agency in Countering Backlash Against Gender Justice: Synthesis of Three Policy Cases in Bangladesh

This paper consolidates research conducted in Bangladesh on three policy cases to understand how gender justice movements formulate their demands on specific issues in response to the backlash they encounter from anti-rights actors. The cases examined are: the formulation of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Act (DVPPA), the Hindu Family Law Reform (HFLR) initiative, and online gender-based violence (OGBV). We examine these cases to highlight the similarities and differences in how the movements strategised to place their demands, the alliances and coalitions they formed, the opportunities they seized, the spaces (policy, civic and popular) they were active in, and the results they achieved. We also scrutinise the backlash they faced, the actors involved, the strategies employed by these actors, the alliances formed, and the outcomes obtained.