Someone building a tower with plastic toy blocks

This talk focusses on Bangladesh as a Muslim-majority country and the rights of women in different aspects of their family life

This instalment of the University of Portsmouth's Research Futures webinar series is chaired by Leïla Choukroune, Professor of International Law and Director of the University of Portsmouth Thematic Area in Democratic Citizenship and sees a presentation by Dr Tanjina Sharmin, expert in Economic International Law at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

This talk discusses the rights of women and how different aspects of their family life are governed by the statutory sharia law in place in Bangladesh. Dr Sharmin will discuss the legislation (Muslim Family Law Ordinance) which codifies sharia law and the influence of this legislation, on both women and men in the country. For instance, the law grants that men have an unlimited right to divorce (even for reasons such as a mere change of mind), whilst women need to have permission from their husband in order to divorce them. 

Dr Sharmin discusses the above and other aspects within the talk, and responds to questions from the talk's participants. 

Speaker's Bio: 

Dr Tanjina Sharmin completed an LLM, specialising in Commercial Laws at the University of Cambridge, and holds another LLM, as well as LLB, from the University of Dhaka. Tanjina is also a former Commonwealth Scholar. Her PhD at Monash was in International Economic Law. During her PhD candidature, she participated in the investment treaty mapping project undertaken by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.