How Policy Folds Back Before Implementation: A Study on Unequal Inheritance Right in Bangladesh

Abstract

This chapter analyses how policy folds back before its implementation. Considering the unequal inheritance rights issue in Bangladesh as a case, this study explores how the National Women’s Development Policy (NWDP) 2011, which contained provisions for ensuring women’s equal inheritance right, was abandoned long before it was implemented. It argues that when a policy intends to introduce fundamental change in the social structure, it encounters stiff opposition which may threaten the survival of the regime. Therefore, successful policy implementation depends on the amount of change it aims and the nature of opposition it may encounter from society. The NWDP was of this stature, and before it was implemented, it faced serious challenge from Islamic religious groups, who opposed it on the ground that it was un-Islamic and against the Sharia. In a country such as Bangladesh, where religious sentiments have deep roots, the government was careful not to hurt the religious sentiments of people. Finding no other alternative and to quell the ever-increasing violence, the government opted for political settlement or compromise to maintain balance of power and rolled back from implementing the policy in order to thwart further religious backlash.