Do students support equal rights to land and inheritance? Reflections from Bangladesh

Abstract

ABSTRACT The issue of inheritance rights in Bangladesh is a debatable one, given the many laws provided in different religions and varied interpretations of these. This study is focused on assessing students’ perceptions about gender equality with respect to inheritance of land. Primary data were collected from university students in Bangladesh using Simple Random Sampling (SRS) technique. Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) was used to assess research outcomes and whether or not the respondents supported women’s equal rights to inherit land. Our results show that female students were more supportive of equal rights to inheritance compared to their male counterparts. We also identify some reasons underlying the varying responses, as in many cases such attitudes were due to the presence of working women in the families of some respondents. In contrast, those who were knowledgeable about Sharia or Islamic laws did not support women’s right to inheritance.