The development organization and constraints to development: BRAC experience with religious organization in relation to human rights and legal education posters

Abstract

To educate people on human rights and some essential laws BRAC fixed 700,000 posters throughout Bangladesh. Displaying of the posters faced backlashes from the religious organizations. This paper investigated the nature and causes of the backlash and accordingly chalked out strategies for smooth functioning of the development orga-nizations in achieving their objectives. Interpretation of the posters based on the Holy Koran and Islamic practices, intrusion in the professional territory of religious organizations, and affecting the socioeconomic interest of the group representing the organizations were responsible for the backlash. In the light of these findings it was concluded that the development organizations should convince people of its cause by clearly spelling out its objectives, and formulating as such so that the opposing organizations may not get a scope to resist the development activities