"INDIGENOUS WOMEN IN THE CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS: A STUDY ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE"

Abstract

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh occupies a geopolitically significant position due to its borders with India and Myanmar, its natural resources, and its complex historical and political contexts. For decades, Indigenous Peoples of the CHT have struggled for self-determination, land rights, and survival, but successive state policies—marked by militarisation, Bengali settler transmigration, and systemic discrimination—have produced widespread violence, displacement, and marginalization. The 1997 CHT Peace Accord formally ended over two decades of armed conflict, yet key provisions, including demilitarisation, land dispute resolution, and rehabilitation of displaced peoples, remain largely unimplemented. Women and girls, excluded from peace negotiations, continue to face gendered impacts of conflict, including sexual violence, abduction, and impunity for perpetrators. The failure of the state to address communal violence and ensure justice has eroded trust in formal legal systems. As a result, many Indigenous communities, despite support from NGOs, continue to rely on traditional justice mechanisms, which are perceived as more accessible and culturally familiar, though increasingly contested by Indigenous women’s rights activists.Drawing on primary data collected through field observations, structured surveys of 100 respondents, three focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with ten experts, alongside secondary sources, the research highlights both the persistence of impunity in formal legal systems and the contested reliance on traditional justice mechanisms. Findings reveal the resilience of indigenous women and communities, while underscoring the urgent need for state accountability, implementation of peace accord provisions, and gender-sensitive policies. The study contributes to broader debates on indigenous rights, peacebuilding, and gender justice.