School for International Training Global Partnership: Assessment of the Performance of Legal Aid Clinics of BRAC: An In-Depth Look

The vast majority of people, especially the poor, are not receiving justice in Bangladesh. Poor people cannot even think of going to court because they have no money or influence in society. In the 1980s, BRAC, the largest NGO in Bangladesh involved in multifaceted development activities, felt that legal awareness would help people in their daily lives. Experience has shown that curative legal aid is also needed for poor people, especially for women. BRAC, in cooperation with Ain-O-Salish Kendra (ASK- a legal aid NGO), started a program in 1998. The Legal Aid Clinics (LAC) were established in different parts of Bangladesh. This paper includes an in-depth study of BRAC’s LAC. On the basis of the data, it appears that people of rural Bangladesh accept the clinic approach and they feel LAC is very useful for them. To strengthen the program, this capstone paper makes recommendations in various areas, specifically about the role of Legal Aid Clinic to the program planner of BRAC