Is Bangladesh safe for women travellers?
Significant restrictions
Bangladesh carries significant legal restrictions for women travellers — the clearest concern is women's legal rights (severe legal inequality).
What to know as a woman
the sourced facts that weigh most for you · concerns first
Women face severe legal inequality — the WBL index scores 49/100 (2023), with major restrictions across mobility, marriage, work and property. Research local rules on freedom of movement carefully.
Abortion is prohibited under Sections 312-316 of the Penal Code, 1860 except to save the woman’s life, although ’menstrual regulation’ is permitted under the national family-planning programme up to about 10-12 weeks.
The Constitution (Articles 27-28) guarantees equality and bars state discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, but Bangladesh has no comprehensive anti-discrimination statute and no protection covering sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Identity & recognition
Same-sex relationships
CriminalisedConsensual same-sex sexual activity is criminalised under Section 377 of the Penal Code, 1860, punishable by up to life imprisonment, though the law is rarely enforced.
Legal gender recognition
Third gender; gatekeptBangladesh recognised ’hijra’ as an official third-gender category by cabinet decision in 2013 (gazetted 2014), but there is no self-determination process for changing legal gender and recognition has involved medical gatekeeping.
Anti-discrimination protection
Partial (constitution)The Constitution (Articles 27-28) guarantees equality and bars state discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, but Bangladesh has no comprehensive anti-discrimination statute and no protection covering sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Disability rights
CRPD 2007 + 2013 ActBangladesh ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 and enacted the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2013, creating enforceable disability rights.
Women's legal rights
Severe legal inequalityWomen face severe legal inequality — the WBL index scores 49/100 (2023), with major restrictions across mobility, marriage, work and property. Research local rules on freedom of movement carefully.
LGBTQ+ legal equality
Few or no protectionsLGBTQ+ people face a hostile legal environment — Equaldex scores 16/100 (2026); expect few or no protections, and in some places active criminalisation. Research local law and discretion carefully.
Body & health
Abortion access
To save life onlyAbortion is prohibited under Sections 312-316 of the Penal Code, 1860 except to save the woman’s life, although ’menstrual regulation’ is permitted under the national family-planning programme up to about 10-12 weeks.
Cannabis & personal drug law
Illegal, severe penaltyCannabis is illegal under the Narcotics Control Act, 2018; penalties range from imprisonment to the death penalty for large quantities.
Faith & conscience
Government restriction of religion
High restrictionsPew Research Center places Bangladesh in the ’High’ band on its Government Restrictions Index on religion (2024 report, 2022 data).
Blasphemy & apostasy law
Actively enforcedBangladesh has no dedicated blasphemy statute, but Section 295A of the Penal Code, 1860 and the Cyber Security Act, 2023 criminalise acts that ’outrage religious feelings’ and are actively used to prosecute alleged blasphemy.
Speech & press
Freedom of expression
Partly free · 44/100Rated Partly Free, 44/100, by Freedom House (2025).
Your obligations on arrival
Address / residence registration
Foreigners on long-stay (over 90 days) visas, including students, must register in person with the Foreigners’ Registration Officer after arrival; student-visa holders also undergo a Special Branch police verification (No Objection Report) to obtain or extend the visa.
Student work rights
A Bangladeshi student visa does not authorise employment; international students must obtain separate permission from their university and the government (Ministry of Home Affairs) before undertaking any paid work.
Health insurance
Health insurance is generally required for international students in Bangladesh, with most institutions treating coverage as a condition of student-visa issuance and enrolment, though it is not codified in a single national law.
Bringing medication
Travellers should carry prescription medicines in original packaging with a copy of the prescription or a doctor’s letter and limit quantities to personal use; narcotic or psychotropic medicines require prior approval, so travellers should verify legality with a Bangladeshi mission before travel.
Laws differ from lived experience and this is not legal advice. Each fact shows its evidence type, date and source. Full method & sources →
Emergency numbers
Travel-medical cover that works abroad with no local address, and a data eSIM so maps and messaging work the moment you land.