Women in Bangladesh:

Women's lives in Bangladesh are governed by a combination of religious, customary and secular law, as well as social class. In customary practice, the interaction of Islam and Hiduism in southern Asia has resulted in the adoption of the most restrictive aspects of each religion with respect to the status of women. Secular law formally recognizes equal rights for women, but undermines this recognition by special provisions which treat women as dependent legal entities. But whereas poor, rural women have few opportunities for change, middle- and upper-class women are beginning to emerge, in small but significant ways, from traditional roles.