A/55/280/Add.2 15. Article 41 provides that subject to law, public order and morality, (a) every citizen has the right to profess, practise or propagate any religion; (b) every religious community or denomination has the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions; and that no person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction, or to attend any religious ceremony or worship, if that instruction, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own. 16. The Constitution guarantees the principle of nondiscrimination (Articles 10, 27 to 29, and 121). 17. Article 10 provides that steps shall be taken to ensure participation of women in all spheres of national life. 18. Article 27 provides that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law. 19. Article 28 provides that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the State and public life; no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race ... be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to access to any place of public entertainment or resort, or admission to any educational institution. 20. Article 29 provides that there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the Republic; no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, be ineligible for, or discriminated in respect of, any employment or office in the service of the Republic; nothing in this article shall prevent the State from ... giving effect to any law which makes provision for reserving appointments relating to any religious or denominational institution to persons of that religion or denomination. 21. Article 121 provides that there shall be one electoral roll for each constituency for the purposes of elections to Parliament, and no special electoral roll shall be prepared so as to classify electors according to religion, race, caste or sex. 22. The Constitution accords a special role to Islam, which is defined as the State religion. 23. The Amendment of 1977 defines the Muslim faith as one of the nation’s guiding principles. Article 8, paragraph 1 of the Constitution provides that “The principle of absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah ... together with the principles derived from them as set out in this part, shall constitute the fundamental principles of state policy” (“Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah shall be the basis of all actions”). This Amendment abrogated Article 12 of the 1972 Constitution, which stipulated: The principle of secularism shall be realized by the elimination of communalism in all its forms: (a) the granting by the State of political status in favour of any religion; (b) the abuse of religion for political purposes; (c) any discrimination against, or persecution of, persons practising a particular religion. 24. The Amendment of 1988 states the State religion of the Republic is Islam but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in the Republic (Article 2.A). Article 25, paragraph 2 provides that the State shall endeavour to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity. 25. The Chief Justice has stated that the Amendment of 1988 had no legal consequences with respect to religious communities, especially minorities, nor with respect to the country’s jurisprudence. He further stated that in any case, the Constitution stipulated that Bangladesh was bound by the international instruments it had signed. He added that the sharia did not constitute the basis of the country’s legislation. B. Other legal provisions 26. According to information gathered from the authorities and from non-governmental organizations, there is no specific law regulating freedom of religion and belief. However, there are laws in force protecting religion or having an impact either in areas perceived as being a matter for religious officials, or on minority religions. There are also a number of religious personal laws. 1. Religious personal laws and other rules of positive law 27. Religious personal laws, also known as family laws, relate for each community (Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist) to personal matters such as marriage, divorce, dowry, maintenance, guardianship, 5