Anti-Gender Backlash in Post-Uprising Bangladesh: A Community-Based National Study

This community-based national study examines the changing landscape of anti-gender backlash in Bangladesh following the July–August 2024 mass uprising, exploring its underlying drivers, emerging narratives, channels of influence, and consequences for marginalized and gender-diverse communities. Conducted by Noboprobhaat Foundation under the United for Resilience initiative, with support from Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE), the research investigates how organized opposition to gender equality and inclusion has evolved within Bangladesh’s changing political and social environment.

Drawing on 29 key informant interviews with 28 individuals, two focus group discussions involving 16 participants, and an analysis of 118 documented monitoring entries, the study brings together community experiences and evidence from six administrative divisions. It examines the roles of religious and political actors, online campaigns, institutional responses, and local social dynamics in shaping discriminatory narratives and practices. Particular attention is given to the connections between online hostility and offline consequences, including threats, harassment, restrictions on movement, loss of livelihoods, educational exclusion, displacement, and barriers to accessing justice and essential services.

The findings highlight significant changes in the nature of documented hostility following August 2024, alongside emerging opportunities for civic participation, community leadership, and collective resistance. Through an intersectional analysis, the report explores how experiences differ across rural and urban settings, socioeconomic circumstances, Indigenous communities, occupations, and institutional environments. It also identifies critical gaps in protection, accountability, access to resources, and organizational sustainability.

The study concludes with evidence-based recommendations for government institutions, civil society organizations, development partners, and community-led networks. These recommendations emphasize coordinated protection and emergency response, institutional accountability, inclusive policymaking, equitable resource mobilization, digital safety, and stronger grassroots leadership. By connecting documented experiences with broader political and institutional developments, the report seeks to inform national advocacy, strengthen cross-movement solidarity, and support collective efforts toward a safer, more inclusive, and rights-respecting Bangladesh.