Rumana Islam is a Professor of Law at University of Dhaka currently on deputation. She joined Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) in May 2022 as the first female Commissioner of the BSEC for a term of four years.

Barrister Rashna Imam, an Oxford scholar, is currently practicing as an Advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. She is the Managing Partner of Akhtar Imam & Associates and Executive Director of Academy of Law and Policy (ALAP). On the occasion of the 8th of March International Women’s Day, the Law Desk spoke with her on the following issues:

Sumaiya Khair is a Professor of Law at the University of Dhaka, where she served as Head of the Department of Law from 2009-2011. She has a PhD from

David Ormon Carter is a Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. David began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in 1972 where he became the senior deputy district attorney. 

Surya Deva is a Professor at the Macquarie Law School and a founding Editor-in-Chief of Business and Human Rights Journal.

Law Desk (LD): What lessons can we take from the COVID-19 pandemic in order to protect women from facing differentiated impacts of disasters/public health crises?

LD: What, in your opinion, are the reasons of the recent surge in incidence of rape?

Law Desk (LD): What would be your general observations on the increasing number of rape and its relation with the culture of impunity?

Dr. Faustina Pereira is a human rights lawyer, scholar, and a gender and development specialist.

UPR may be described as an interactive dialogue about human rights situation between the state under review and other UN Member States. It entails immense importance in the present context. For instance, although it is said that human rights are universal, in practice states have a tendency to view their respective human rights situations as domestic matters.

Brian Barbour is a lawyer with a background in International Refugee Law.

The very timely written book of Professor Abdullah Al Faruque on nuclear power titled Nuclear Energy Regulation, Risk and the Environment, published in 2018 by Routledge, makes an important contribution in the field of nuclear energy law which is still

Professor Dr. Shahnaz Huda has been teaching law at the University of Dhaka since 1989, specialising in personal and comparative

Arif Khan is an Advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He studied law from the University of Dhaka. He is one of the co-founders of Reading Club, a Dhaka University based platform for enthusiastic readers and young scholars.

Dr. William Boothby is an Associate Fellow under the Global Fellowship Initiative (GFI) at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). He formerly held the position of Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force (RAF), UK. He retired as Deputy Director of Legal Services (RAF) in July 2011.

Law Desk (LD): Could you tell us about the background of the study titled 'Justice Needs and Satisfaction in Bangladesh, 2018: Legal Problems in Daily Life'?

Law Desk (LD): Tell us the background in brief of your work. Also, what are some of the key challenges you faced in being the voice of marginalised community in India?

Kawser Ahmed is an Advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He has also been serving the Government of Bangladesh on human rights reporting for more than five years. He assisted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in drafting the national report for 2nd Cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Thereafter he was assigned to draft the initial state party reports on the ICCPR and the ICESCR in a row. Of late, he assisted the Ministry in drafting the national report for 3rd Cycle UPR which is going to be considered by the Human Rights Council in May 2018. Psymhe Wadud from Law Desk talks to him on state party's human rights reporting mechanism and different aspects of UPR.

Law Desk (LD): Last year was eventful. The enactment of the Child Marriage Act widened a new dimension of discourse on conceptualising the fate of the women (specially girl children) in Bangladesh. Please share your thoughts and observation on it.

Ann Stewart is a Professor of Law at the University of Warwick. She researches and teaches in the area of gender and law with a