Strengthening Community Advocacy for the rights of Urdu-speaking Minorities in Bangladesh
Dhaka, Bangladesh | 23–25 April 2026
From 23–25 April 2026, Nationality for All (NFA) convened a Community Advocacy Strengthening Workshop and strategic planning process in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in partnership with the Council of Minorities (COM), a community-led organisation working to advance the rights and inclusion of Urdu-speaking minorities in Bangladesh. This intervention was supported by the Legal Empowerment Fund.
This engagement reflects NFA’s growing partnership with COM and our broader commitment to accompanying community-led and impacted person-led organisations working on nationality rights, equal citizenship, and inclusion across the Asia-Pacific. Rather than offering one-off technical support, NFA’s partnership approach focuses on long-term accompaniment, strategic collaboration, and strengthening community leadership.
The workshop brought together COM paralegals, community representatives, and leadership in a highly participatory process designed to strengthen advocacy understanding and practical skills, while also creating space for deeper strategic reflection on COM’s long-term advocacy direction.
Grounded in the lived realities of Urdu-speaking minority communities, the discussions focused on the gap between formal citizenship recognition and equal citizenship in practice. Participants reflected on recurring barriers in accessing documentation, discriminatory administrative practices, unequal treatment in public systems, and broader structural exclusion affecting their communities.
A key objective of the intervention was to support COM in moving from reactive case-based responses toward more strategic, collective, and evidence-informed advocacy. Through practical exercises, group discussions, stakeholder mapping, advocacy planning, and strategic dialogue, participants explored how everyday community casework can become a foundation for broader systems change.
The workshop also marked an important milestone in NFA’s ongoing partnership with COM. Building on the issues and priorities identified through the workshop, NFA has since worked closely with COM to support the development of its advocacy strategy and implementation roadmap. This includes helping COM sharpen its advocacy priorities, identify strategic entry points, and strengthen its preparedness for sustained national advocacy.
Two interconnected advocacy priorities emerged through this process:
- advancing equal citizenship in practice for Urdu-speaking minorities, particularly by addressing discriminatory barriers in access to documentation, services, and civic participation
- addressing longer-term structural concerns relating to land rights, rehabilitation, tenure security, and dignified inclusion
This partnership reflects NFA’s belief that meaningful advocacy must be community-led, rooted in lived experience, and supported through trust-based accompaniment rather than externally imposed solutions.
As COM continues to strengthen its national advocacy work in Bangladesh, NFA remains committed to supporting this journey through strategic accompaniment, institutional strengthening, and collaborative advocacy development.
