By Friendship News Desk
4 August 2026
The Friendship Community Paralegal Training Manual was officially launched on 4 August, 2026 to strengthen access to justice for people living in Bangladesh’s remote and climate-vulnerable river-island areas. The manual was unveiled by the Honourable Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Advocate Md Asaduzzaman, MP, who attended the launch as Chief Guest at a ceremony held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Gulshan, Dhaka.
In his remarks, the Honourable Minister said that access to justice is a constitutional and fundamental right of every citizen. However, ensuring that legal information and services reach people living in remote, riverine islands (char), coastal and climate-vulnerable communities remain a significant challenge. He noted that the training manual, jointly developed by Friendship and the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid (DVLA), will play an important role in strengthening the capacity of community paralegals and expanding access to justice at the grassroots level.
The event was chaired by Runa Khan, Founder of Friendship. She said that ensuring access to justice for people living in Bangladesh’s remote and marginalised communities, particularly those in the Jamuna-Brahmaputra chars, continues to be a major challenge. Since 2015, Friendship has been addressing this gap through its Community Paralegal Programme by providing legal information, advice, referrals and support to access government services. She expressed confidence that the training manual, developed in partnership with the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid, will help build a more skilled, accountable and people-centred network of community paralegals across the country.
Delivering the welcome remarks, Ayesha Taasin Khan, Senior Director and Head of Inclusive Citizenship at Friendship, welcomed representatives from government, the judiciary, development partners, the media and marginalised communities. She said that ensuring equal access to justice is fundamental to achieving sustainable development and building an inclusive society. She added that the joint initiative with the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid represents an important step towards strengthening legal empowerment for marginalised communities.
Speaking as Special Guest, Khademul Kayes, Additional Secretary of the Law and Justice Division, said that the Government remains committed to ensuring equal protection under the law for every citizen, in line with the Constitution. He added that partnerships with development organisations such as Friendship are particularly valuable in extending legal services to remote, coastal and hard-to-reach areas.
Md Manjurul Hossain, Director General of the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid, said that the manual, developed through Friendship’s extensive field experience and the Directorate’s policy and technical expertise, will strengthen the knowledge and professional capacity of community paralegals while improving the quality of legal services delivered at the community level. The event was attended by representatives from development organisations, the judiciary, government institutions, the legal profession, community paralegals, local government representatives, members of the media and representatives of marginalised communities from char areas across Bangladesh.
