Episode 83

Gender Backlash and the Erosion of Everyday Rights

We explore how gender backlash deepens the marginalisation of sex workers in Bangladesh, affecting their access to health, justice, and basic rights. Featuring the voice of a sex worker and insights from gender justice advocates, we examine how shrinking civic space and growing stigma are putting lives at risk—and what can be done to resist. Part of our mini-series Backlash, Resistance, and the Path to Gender Justice.

In this episode:

Afsana - Committee Member, Kallanmoyee Nari Shongho

‘Afsana’ has been an executive committee member of Kallanmoyee Nari Shongho since 2021. She has been actively engaging with sex workers’ health and rights through HIV prevention work since 2012.

Nazia Zebin - Communications Manager, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health

Nazia is an advocate for gender justice and inclusion. She brings over a decade of experience in social justice initiatives, specialising in strategic communication, digital safety, and feminist leadership.

Kamrun Nahar – Director, Naripokkho

Kamrun is a human rights lawyer and Director at Naripokkho, with over 30 years of experience advancing legal reform and justice for women in Bangladesh. Her work spans legal aid, policy advocacy, and capacity strengthening to challenge structural discrimination and promote gender equality.

Useful links

Takeaways:

  • The podcast elucidates the alarming rise of backlash against gender equality efforts that negatively impacts health outcomes worldwide, particularly for marginalised groups.
  • Afsana's narrative underscores the urgent necessity for recognising the rights of sex workers, highlighting the dire consequences of systemic support withdrawal.
  • The conversation emphasises the importance of amplifying the voices of silenced women, as seen in the initiatives aimed at empowering sex workers in various countries.
  • The discourse reveals a growing trend of societal and legal exclusion faced by sex workers, drawing attention to the interplay between stigmatisation and access to essential services.
  • The episode advocates for collaborative efforts among marginalised communities to combat patriarchal backlash and to promote equitable access to justice and health services.
  • The importance of a paradigm shift in societal perceptions towards sex work is highlighted, advocating for dignity, legal protection, and the elimination of stigma surrounding sex workers.

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Transcript
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Dr. Kim Ozano: Hello and welcome to Connecting Citizens to Science, a global

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health podcast that brings together voices from around the world to explore

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how research is being used to strengthen health systems and drive social change.

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You're listening to episode two of our new mini-series, Backlash,

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Resistance and the Path to Justice.

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This series explores the growing pushback against gender equality globally and how

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this is affecting the global majority, rolling back gender equity gains and

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worsening health outcomes for all.

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Across this six part mini-series, we'll be hearing from two long-term

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gender justice programmes.

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The first is Countering Backlash, Reclaiming Justice.

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This is a six-year research initiative led by the Institute for Development

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Studies and funded by SIDA.

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It's generating new knowledge on patriarchal backlash and sporting

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gender justice defenders in countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil,

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India, Kenya, Lebanon, and Uganda.

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The second programme is called Our Voices, Our Futures, a Global South led

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initiative funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands and coordinated by CERA, and

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it is working to amplify the voices of structurally silenced women in Bangladesh,

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India, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan, and Uganda.

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The episodes are co-hosted by researchers from these programmes, and each episode

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shares reflections from people on the front lines of gender justice struggles.

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In today's episode, we will be focusing on how gender backlash

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impacts access to basic rights for marginalised groups, and in this

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case, it's sex workers in Bangladesh.

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We'll hear how this backlash affects their access to health and justice services,

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and how stigma and discrimination continue to shape their everyday lives.

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We will begin the episode with a story of a woman working as

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a sex worker in Bangladesh.

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And her words are spoken by a member of the Our Voices, Our Futures

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team to preserve her anonymity, and we use the alias Afsana.

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Following Afsana's narrative, I will be joined by two guests working at

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the intersection of gender justice, legal reform, and communication.

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Our first guest, Nazia Zebin, who you'll also hear as a

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co-host in upcoming episodes.

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Nazia is a communications manager at BRAC, James P. Grant School of

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Public Health, and has over a decade of experience in social justice work.

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She is an independent trainer and consultant on organisational strategy,

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gender, digital safety, and diversity.

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We're also joined by Kamrun Nahar, who is a director at Naripokkho, a leading

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human rights organisation in Bangladesh.

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Kamrun is a human rights lawyer who has spent more than 30 years supporting

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women and marginalised groups through legal aid, advocacy and training.

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Her work focuses on shifting discriminatory norms and policies and

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ensuring justice is accessible for all.

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So let's begin the episode by hearing from Afsana.

Afsana:

Uh, I'm Ra Jon.

Afsana:

We work with sex workers.

Afsana:

Our sex worker sisters face many forms of abuse when they come to us

Afsana:

and show that they have been abused, we feel that this must be protested.

Afsana:

We want to speak out and take a stand against it.

Afsana:

When I worked in the HIV programme, these issues were not as prevalent because

Afsana:

many NGOs were active at that time.

Afsana:

It is no longer the same.

Afsana:

A sex worker's life is full of pain.

Afsana:

This is because women only entered this profession under duress, due

Afsana:

to hunger, the need to educate their children and facing many challenges,

Afsana:

they end up in this line of work.

Afsana:

They need money.

Afsana:

If they can't find other means to survive, they are forced into this profession.

Afsana:

In my opinion, if they received legal and societal support, they

Afsana:

could carry out their work safely.

Afsana:

Even when they live in a home, they require social security in

Afsana:

going about their lives and doing their work, they need protection.

Afsana:

Since the fall of the previous government in August, 2024 violence against sex

Afsana:

workers has increased significantly.

Afsana:

They can't go to their usual spots for work, and their

Afsana:

livelihoods are now in danger.

Afsana:

The current political parties claim they are working for the country's

Afsana:

development, but is that really true?

Afsana:

We're not receiving any legal support, and we have been unable to correspond

Afsana:

with the current administration.

Afsana:

Under the previous government, we were able to communicate through various

Afsana:

NGOs and advocacy organisations.

Afsana:

We were able to convey that this is the profession chosen by sex

Afsana:

workers, and through it, they support their children and families.

Afsana:

But this is no longer the case under the current government, which

Afsana:

is why sex workers are constantly subjected to violence and abuse.

Afsana:

To obtain legal support, we must all work together.

Afsana:

We need to clearly communicate that this is our sex worker sisters profession.

Afsana:

This is how they earn a living.

Afsana:

What else will they do if not this?

Afsana:

This is their source of income.

Afsana:

Without societal support, they will continue to be targets of violence.

Afsana:

They also need access to health services.

Afsana:

Just because they're sex workers, does that mean they

Afsana:

should be denied healthcare?

Afsana:

They need it just like anyone else.

Afsana:

There are no mental health services available now.

Afsana:

Previously, they could go to certain NGOs for help.

Afsana:

If they were upset or traumatised, they would receive counselling.

Afsana:

That's not available anymore.

Afsana:

Dr. Kim Ozano: Thank you very much to Afsana for sharing her story

Afsana:

and to the Our Voices, Our Futures team, for helping us hear it.

Afsana:

Her experience really highlights the urgent need to recognise sex

Afsana:

workers' rights and the consequences when support systems are taken away.

Afsana:

To explore these issues further, i'm now joined by Nazia Zebin and Kamrun

Afsana:

Nahar, who are two women engaged in the fight for gender justice in Bangladesh.

Afsana:

We're really happy to have you here with us today on the podcast, and

Afsana:

thank you so much for joining us for such an important conversation.

Afsana:

Before we get into discussing Afsana's narrative, Nazia, perhaps

Afsana:

you could tell us a bit about your work in gender justice.

Nazia Zebin:

Sure.

Nazia Zebin:

I'm currently engaging as a coordinator for two long-term programmes.

Nazia Zebin:

So, one is the Countering Backlash, Reclaim Justice programme.

Nazia Zebin:

Another one is the Our Voices, Our Futures Programme.

Nazia Zebin:

Countering Backlash aims to create new knowledge around patriarchal

Nazia Zebin:

backlash and also aims to support the women rights organisations and other

Nazia Zebin:

gender justice defenders on how they can counter gender backlash better.

Nazia Zebin:

And this programme is being funded by Sida, whereas the Our Voices, Our Future

Nazia Zebin:

programme is a Global South led initiative that works to amplify the voices of

Nazia Zebin:

structurally silenced women across Bangladesh and five other countries.

Nazia Zebin:

This initiative is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign

Nazia Zebin:

Affairs and coordinated by CERA.

Nazia Zebin:

I'm extremely passionate about human rights and diversity and inclusion, and

Nazia Zebin:

that is also like a key reason why I'm so excited to be a part of this podcast.

Nazia Zebin:

Dr. Kim Ozano: Thanks so much.

Nazia Zebin:

And Kamrun tell us a bit about yourself.

Kamrun Nahar:

I started my journey as a lawyer from 1994.

Kamrun Nahar:

I try to remove or address the discrimination which is

Kamrun Nahar:

happening in our everyday life.

Kamrun Nahar:

I have got opportunities to involve with many advocacy level

Kamrun Nahar:

work so that we can eliminate the discrimination and reform policy

Kamrun Nahar:

Dr. Kim Ozano: So, I understand that you've had a listen to

Kamrun Nahar:

Afsana's narrative and her story.

Kamrun Nahar:

What are your reflections on that and is this something you hear often?

Kamrun Nahar:

There are so many Afsana's around us.

Kamrun Nahar:

Her demand is so little; safety, security, health service.

Kamrun Nahar:

These are so minimum, but they are getting minimum services from the state.

Kamrun Nahar:

So, I have that realisation that they're excluded from society.

Kamrun Nahar:

They're excluded from the laws.

Kamrun Nahar:

They're invisible.

Nazia Zebin:

We just heard one story, and there are so many other stories, and

Nazia Zebin:

there are certain similarities in all the stories, the story of social exclusion.

Nazia Zebin:

Being excluded, being not heard, and I think that pain is very real.

Nazia Zebin:

The rising backlash against women, against sex workers, against all marginalised

Nazia Zebin:

communities that has been rising in the country for for several years,

Nazia Zebin:

and what I'm thinking about right now is how we can work together, like

Nazia Zebin:

all of these groups who are being impacted by the rising backlash, how

Nazia Zebin:

all of these groups can work together.

Nazia Zebin:

Dr. Kim Ozano: Thank you so much.

Nazia Zebin:

So, we heard in the narrative as well that the spaces for advocacy and for

Nazia Zebin:

activism are closing, and the funding for organisations are smaller, so

Nazia Zebin:

the services are reducing further.

Nazia Zebin:

So, Kamrun, what does that mean for your practice and for changing the existing

Nazia Zebin:

situation or resisting this backlash?

Kamrun Nahar:

In our country, sex work is not illegal.

Kamrun Nahar:

It is legal, but there is some confusion.

Kamrun Nahar:

It is legal, but it is prohibited by constitution.

Kamrun Nahar:

So, what terminology are we using ? Because as per our law,

Kamrun Nahar:

if someone can choose his or her profession, it is welcome by law.

Kamrun Nahar:

But when it is related to women, it is not supported by law.

Kamrun Nahar:

Decriminalisation is important.

Kamrun Nahar:

Dr. Kim Ozano: Okay, So, there's real work towards clear policies and legal framings

Kamrun Nahar:

to protect sex workers and their rights.

Kamrun Nahar:

when they learned that she's a sex work, they denied to give services.

Kamrun Nahar:

We need to restructure or strategically think how will we ensure that they

Kamrun Nahar:

will do their profession safely with dignity and will get support

Kamrun Nahar:

as a citizen, not as a women.

Kamrun Nahar:

Dr. Kim Ozano: I think what I'm hearing is that there's a discrimination, a stigma

Kamrun Nahar:

so that the health services are reacting to that stigmatisation and limiting their

Kamrun Nahar:

freedom and rights for health services.

Kamrun Nahar:

Nazia, is that what you're seeing in your work as well?

Nazia Zebin:

Yeah, definitely.

Nazia Zebin:

But when, when you think about HIV the most vulnerable, one of the most

Nazia Zebin:

vulnerable communities we think about are sex workers . While that may be

Nazia Zebin:

true, it also stigmatises some of the framing of how you talk about sex

Nazia Zebin:

workers, a vulnerable community to HIV.

Nazia Zebin:

So, that's very important.

Nazia Zebin:

Dr. Kim Ozano: So, in terms of mental health services and mental health

Nazia Zebin:

support, Afsana talks about these specifically and how women need these.

Nazia Zebin:

They're exposed to trauma, and we've heard the devastating impact of violence

Nazia Zebin:

on their profession and on their rights.

Nazia Zebin:

Could you talk to us a little bit about that mental health service

Nazia Zebin:

provision and what it means?

Kamrun Nahar:

The mental health service is not available or not easily

Kamrun Nahar:

accessible but there are opportunities.

Kamrun Nahar:

The Government has a hotline on trauma counselling.

Kamrun Nahar:

Mental health counselling can be arranged, but basic medical, basic food, when

Kamrun Nahar:

I am not getting these basic things, then mental health is, I think, the

Kamrun Nahar:

second layer or third layer, um, need.

Kamrun Nahar:

Yes.

Kamrun Nahar:

Um, Afsana Apa rightly pointed out that these services is...

Kamrun Nahar:

yes.

Nazia:

Is shrinking.

Kamrun Nahar:

Shrinking.

Nazia Zebin:

The importance of mental health is also not recognised.

Nazia Zebin:

And mental health services are very expensive.

Nazia Zebin:

There are initiatives, cyber initiatives as well adding to what Kamrun Apa has

Nazia Zebin:

shared about the government initiative.

Nazia Zebin:

But there are not a lot of free helplines and if you have to meet with

Nazia Zebin:

a professional is extremely expensive, and it is only contained within Dhaka.

Nazia Zebin:

And there are like no mental health professionals who

Nazia Zebin:

are, who is outside of Dhaka.

Nazia Zebin:

There are like big cities, there are like other health professionals, they have like

Nazia Zebin:

good hospitals and everything, but mental health providers are not really there.

Nazia Zebin:

So, yeah, like by itself is a very exclusionary service so, there is a

Nazia Zebin:

lot of scope for improvement overall.

Nazia Zebin:

Dr. Kim Ozano: It sounds like, there's a lot more training and distribution

Nazia Zebin:

needed for mental health practitioners, but also, how do you get beyond this

Nazia Zebin:

need for survival of basic food, of basic safety before you can address trauma?

Nazia Zebin:

So, it sounds like there's quite a long way to go and, making sure that sex

Nazia Zebin:

workers have access to that support.

Nazia Zebin:

Right now, in Bangladesh, you're seeing a political shift, and we can

Nazia Zebin:

hear Afsana talk about that shift and how it's impacting sex workers.

Nazia Zebin:

Do you have any comments on how you see this going, or your concerns, and

Nazia Zebin:

how your field of gender justice can push back against the changes that

Nazia Zebin:

are coming from that political shift.

Kamrun Nahar:

Actually, during the shifting period,

Kamrun Nahar:

many things actually happen.

Kamrun Nahar:

Not only on sex worker, many women related issue also happened.

Kamrun Nahar:

So, we need to work more coordinately so that we can react together.

Kamrun Nahar:

Some example I can share, the reform commission has prepared their report,

Kamrun Nahar:

their reform proposal and the sex workers rights issue has addressed

Kamrun Nahar:

by Women's Reform Commissions.

Kamrun Nahar:

And it's also addressed by labour, labour reform commissions also.

Kamrun Nahar:

And what the commissions proposal is to advocate for the worker

Kamrun Nahar:

sites and there is a backlash.

Kamrun Nahar:

So many backlash on it.

Kamrun Nahar:

But we have to stick, we have to...

Nazia Zebin:

we have to be strong.

Kamrun Nahar:

...we have to be strong in this.

Kamrun Nahar:

We have to work with the connecting ministry, connecting others lawmakers

Kamrun Nahar:

because nowadays there is no parliament.

Kamrun Nahar:

So, if we can work with closely with the policy makers, if we got some positive

Kamrun Nahar:

intervention from the policy makers, it'll help to work closely with this issue.

Kamrun Nahar:

And also it'll help us to be united.

Kamrun Nahar:

Dr. Kim Ozano: Do either of you have an example of the type of backlash?

Kamrun Nahar:

So you said there's many things that are happening, do you have a, an, an example?

Kamrun Nahar:

One example, was female traveller, with her relatives on a beach

Kamrun Nahar:

at midnight, , some people, they organise and they attack the girl and say why you

Kamrun Nahar:

were here and with this type of dressup?

Kamrun Nahar:

And these things in my opinion, it's not new, but the articulating, the

Kamrun Nahar:

threatening, the backlash is new to us.

Kamrun Nahar:

People are thinking that they can do anything against women, that is alarming.

Nazia Zebin:

I'll just add to what Kamrun Apa said.

Nazia Zebin:

It was also about them naming them as sex workers.

Nazia Zebin:

So, that's how they validated their attack on the girls who were out in the

Nazia Zebin:

beach at night because it was the framing of sex worker, like 'she must be a sex

Nazia Zebin:

worker because she is out at night wearing clothes like a Western casual wear'.

Nazia Zebin:

So, she must be a sex worker and it is justified that we are attacking her.

Nazia Zebin:

Right now because of the growing gender backlash, it's not hidden.

Nazia Zebin:

It's not subtle.

Nazia Zebin:

It's like completely out there.

Nazia Zebin:

It is very much on the digital media.

Nazia Zebin:

We see anybody who is speaking for basic women's rights, they

Nazia Zebin:

are being tagged as sex worker.

Nazia Zebin:

They're being tagged as, I don't know, like a lot of like derogatory

Nazia Zebin:

words and things like that.

Nazia Zebin:

So, that is very prominent right now.

Nazia Zebin:

And of course, as Kamrun Apa said, when something has happened, like

Nazia Zebin:

an incident has happened, the government is not being proactive.

Nazia Zebin:

It's reactive.

Nazia Zebin:

When something happens, and there's like a lot of conversation around it, there

Nazia Zebin:

are people who are asking the government like, why have you allowed this to happen?

Nazia Zebin:

Only then, they are taking action.

Nazia Zebin:

And it also very indicative of the resources that the person

Nazia Zebin:

who's being attacked has.

Nazia Zebin:

So, if the person belongs to a certain class where she does not

Nazia Zebin:

have access to this network, then people are not really backing her up.

Nazia Zebin:

But if she belongs to a certain class where she can access resources, and

Nazia Zebin:

she is getting the kind of backup that she requires to get the justice.

Nazia Zebin:

So, we can see how discrimination is also very built in into

Nazia Zebin:

the justice system itself.

Nazia Zebin:

And it's very class based.

Nazia Zebin:

It's very resource based.

Nazia Zebin:

It's also based on geographic location.

Nazia Zebin:

Are in an urban area, are a rural area, and they're like a lot lot of examples.

Nazia Zebin:

These examples are increasing in numbers and also the kind of mediums

Nazia Zebin:

that we are seeing that's been happening with the digital media

Nazia Zebin:

currently leading at the front.

Nazia Zebin:

Dr. Kim Ozano: Okay.

Nazia Zebin:

So, it sounds very much like language and labels are being used to frame

Nazia Zebin:

and justify abuses, which aren't being followed up because of a lack of

Nazia Zebin:

resources and because of this backlash.

Nazia Zebin:

So, we've reached the end of the episode.

Nazia Zebin:

Thank you so much for your contributions for helping us to understand the situation

Nazia Zebin:

in Bangladesh for marginalised groups and we're very grateful for that.

Nazia Zebin:

What lessons can we, as the global community take forward for gender justice?

Kamrun Nahar:

We need to change our mindset.

Kamrun Nahar:

We should create an environment so that they can overcome the challenges.

Kamrun Nahar:

We need to work together and we need to research what health services are needed.

Kamrun Nahar:

And what strategy will help them more.

Kamrun Nahar:

It should be articulate and it should be accessible, equitable, and easy.

Kamrun Nahar:

Dr. Kim Ozano: So, very much looking at changing our mindset.

Kamrun Nahar:

Look at the challenges faced by sex workers and women, voice them and really

Kamrun Nahar:

raise and amplify those advocacy efforts.

Kamrun Nahar:

One last piece of advice to take forward, please, Nazia.

Nazia Zebin:

Advice, I feel that I still have a long way to go to provide advice.

Nazia Zebin:

But then again, what I do believe in is listening from the people who are

Nazia Zebin:

being affected by the issues directly.

Nazia Zebin:

So, we are to listen more of these stories from people like Afsana Apa other sex

Nazia Zebin:

workers, other activists within the sex workers community who are leading their

Nazia Zebin:

own initiatives, and also hear from their experiences how we can empower them.

Nazia Zebin:

What are the resources that they need, which we have that we can share with them.

Nazia Zebin:

So, I think that's one takeaway that I can share as somebody who has

Nazia Zebin:

been involved with a lot multiple layers of activism in different lens.

Nazia Zebin:

Dr. Kim Ozano: So, really listen to people with experience, activists

Nazia Zebin:

and join them in bringing resources to help them advocate for change.

Nazia Zebin:

Well, that brings us to the end of this episode.

Nazia Zebin:

We've heard how structural discrimination, shrinking civic spaces and political

Nazia Zebin:

shifts are threatening the health, safety, and rights of sex workers

Nazia Zebin:

in Bangladesh, and how women like Afsana are standing up and demanding

Nazia Zebin:

to be seen, heard, and protected.

Nazia Zebin:

So, thank you so much to our guests for helping us to understand how these

Nazia Zebin:

issues connect with the wider struggles for gender justice and legal reform.

Nazia Zebin:

If you found today's conversation insightful, make sure you subscribe

Nazia Zebin:

to Connecting Citizens to Science wherever you get your podcasts.

Nazia Zebin:

And don't miss out on the next four episodes, next time we'll be

Nazia Zebin:

examining the role of allyship.

Nazia Zebin:

Whether you're a researcher, policymaker, or practitioner, knowing how to

Nazia Zebin:

engage with allies in meaningful non performative ways can be critical to

Nazia Zebin:

advance gender justice in your field.

Nazia Zebin:

So, join us for that conversation and in the meantime, stay connected.

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About your host

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Kim Ozano

Research and Development Director at SCL and co-founder and host of the ‘Connecting Citizens to Science’ (CCS) podcast. Kim is a health policy and systems researcher with over 15 years’ experience of designing, delivering and evaluating health and development projects in the Global South and UK. She is an implementation health research specialist, as can be seen from her publications and work at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where she remains an Honorary lecturer.
Kim creates space in Connecting Citizens to Science for researchers and communities to share their experience of co-production to shape policy and lasting positive change.