Modernization and Policing in South Asia: The Case of Bangladesh with Particular Reference to Women in Policing

Abstract

The chapter examines the history, nature, progress, and the problems of modernization and reforms in policing in Bangladesh with particular reference to the integration of women in policing. The study examines some of the issues that have been raised as problems for reforms and modernization in policing in the region of South Asia; describes the existing structure and the organization of policing in Bangladesh; articulates various programs of reforms and modernization in policing in Bangladesh; and finally, discusses on the nature and the progress of women in policing in Bangladesh. It is primarily based on document analysis with the data collected from various government and non-government sources and legal documents such as the Police Act of 1861 and the DMP Act of 1976, etc. This study argues that during the last three decades of its modernization and reforms, Bangladesh police has made significant organizational, professional, technological, legal, and ethical change and transformations including developments in gender diversity and women empowerment in policing. These developments have been achieved despite the fact that in its 45 years of existence, Bangladesh was under the military rule for almost 30 years, Bangladesh has experienced a sharp rise in Islamic radicalism, and political violence has remained an intractable problem of the political culture of Bangladesh.