Information on this subject could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

The attachment from the United nations's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) provides some information on women's groups in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP), for example, helps rehabilitate prostitutes and "provides legal aid to abused women" (United Nations 8 Apr. 1993, 21). The attachment from Women's Associations Worldwide lists several women's organizations in Bangladesh; however, none of them appear to provide services to abused women.

For additional information on the situation of women in Bangladesh, please consult Country Reports 1992 (p. 1126), 1993 (p. 1328) and 1994 (n.p.), the DIRB's Question and Answer Series paper Women in Bangladesh of December 1993, and Responses to Information Requests BGD13368 and BGD13369 of 20 April 1993. All these publications are available at Regional Documentation Centres.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find attached the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

United Nations. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). 8 April 1993. (CEDAW/C/BGD/3). Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention.

Attachments

Encyclopedia of Women's Associations Worldwide. 1993. Edited by Jacqueline K. Barrett. London: Gale Research International Ltd, pp. 47-48.

Refugees, Immigration and Asylum Section (RIAS), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [Parkes, ACT, Australia]. July 1994. Country Profile: Bangladesh, p. 7.

United Nations. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). 8 April 1993. (CEDAW/C/BGD/3). Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention, pp. 21-22.

Universities Field Staff international, Inc. (UFSI). 1987. No. 36. Naseem Ahmed. "Women in Bangladesh: Part 1: Socio-Economic and Political Status," pp. 9-10.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report. Yearly. 1993, 1994.

AsiaWeek [Hong Kong]. Weekly. 1993 to present.

Asian Survey [Calif.]. Monthly. 1993 to present.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1993, 1994, 1995.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1993.

DIRB "Amnesty International: Bangladesh" country file. 1993 to present.

DIRB "Bangladesh" country file. 1993 to present.

Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board [Ottawa]. December 1993. Women in Bangladesh.

Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. Yearly. 1993.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. 1993, 1994.

India Today [New Delhi]. Fortnightly. 1993 to present.

International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW). Women's Watch [Minn.]. Quarterly. 1993 to present.

Office of Asylum Affairs, Department of State [Washington, DC]. December 1994. Bangladesh: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.

Price, Susan Y. n.d. The Legal System of Bangladesh.

Turshen, Meredeth and Briavel Holcomb (ed.). 1993. Women's Lives and Public Policy.

Women's International Network. WIN News. Quarterly. 1993 to present.

Women's Movements of the World: An International Directory and Reference Guide. 1988.