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The High Court has issued a landmark verdict to curb the unethical practice of determining and disclosing the gender of a fetus. Consequently, it will no longer be permissible to reveal whether an unborn child is a boy or a girl.
On Monday (May 11), the full text of the judgment delivered by the High Court bench comprising Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Jinat Haque was published. The court had previously announced a summary of this verdict on February 25, 2024.
The verdict states that determining and disclosing the gender of an unborn child is discriminatory against women, promotes female feticide, creates social imbalance, and goes against constitutional rights. According to the court, such practices infringe upon women’s dignity, equality, and right to life, and also violate international human rights obligations.
The court observed that effective control, monitoring, and accountability mechanisms for this issue have long been absent in Bangladesh. It emphasized that merely formulating a guideline is insufficient; this unethical practice cannot be halted without proper implementation, digital surveillance, and robust control systems.