Abstract

Legal aid is essentially a mechanism that enables the poor and the vulnerable section of the society to enforce their legal rights to access fair and equitable justice in society. Nowadays, legal aid can be justifiably a crying need to ensure social and legal justice in Bangladesh since a large number of the citizens are illiterate and poor which incidentally makes matters worse. Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) which is totally nongovernmental and non-profitable, is one of the leading legal services organizations in Bangladesh. It provides legal aid and support to women, men and children who are living in poverty and facing discrimination. However, this organization faces some challenges while providing services to poor people. The objective of this research is to explore the role of BLAST in providing legal aid services to the vulnerable people and the challenges it faces. This research is both qualitative and quantitative in nature. Data for this research has been collected from both primary (questionnaire and observation) and secondary sources. The study finds that a vast number of people, especially poor and oppressed women, are being benefited by this agency. The study also finds that this organization is suffering from a lack of logistic support and, in some cases, facing political threats.

Keywords: Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Legal aid, Oppressed, Women, Human Rights, Justice