Lift travel ban and end harassment of woman human rights defender Shampa Goswami
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern over the travel ban imposed on woman human rights defender Shampa Goswami in Bangladesh and over a police investigation ordered against her by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Front Line Defenders is concerned that these measures form part of a sustained campaign of stigmatisation, harassment and administrative obstruction against the woman human rights defender, her family and PRERONA, the women-led organisation she leads in Satkhira district, in connection with her peaceful and legitimate human rights work
On 21 August 2026, Shampa Goswami was stopped at the airport and prevented from travelling to Bali, Indonesia, where she was scheduled to participate in an international conference, following a travel restriction imposed by the relevant authorities. On 20 September 2026, she filed a writ petition before the High Court of Bangladesh challenging the travel ban and is awaiting a hearing date.
Shampa Goswami is a woman human rights defender and the Executive Director of PRERONA based in Satkhira district, Bangladesh. PRERONA works on women's rights, the rights of marginalised communities, human rights, climate change, livelihoods, education and disaster management in coastal Satkhira. She has faced threats, harassment and pressure because of her rights-based work since at least 2012, including after supporting a woman survivor of gang rape to file a complaint against the perpetrators. She was subsequently suspended from her post as a schoolteacher in Kaliganj, Satkhira. The forms of pressure have changed over time, but the harassment has repeatedly returned.
On 28 September 2026 Shampa Goswami received a letter, dated 17 September 2026, informing herthat the Ministry of Home Affairs had ordered the Inspector General of Police to investigate allegations of corruption and misuse of funds against her. In response, PRERONA has provided requested documents including financial records, bills and vouchers for its ongoing projects.
In early 2024, several locally influential and politically connected individuals began making allegations against Shampa Goswami and PRERONA which she rejects as false and considers an attempt to discredit her and the organisation..
Some local journalists then threatened to publish damaging reports about the woman human rights defender and demanded money from her. When she refused, she, her colleagues and PRERONA officials began receiving regular calls involving threats and abuse and several staff members were compelled to leave their jobs. On 15 May 2025, she filed a General Diary at Pallabi Police Station in Dhaka identifying the mobile numbers used. Reports which she rejects as false and defamatory were subsequently published on several online platforms and in registered outlets, including the daily Amar Desh, questioning her character, her family, PRERONA's activities and her Bangladeshi citizenship. She has been publicly labelled an "Indian citizen" and an "agent of RAW (India's foreign intelligence agency)", and her two daughters have been subjected to obscene and defamatory comments in social media targeting their personal lives, education and future.
Front Line Defenders is gravely concerned by the gendered nature of the attacks against Shampa Goswami, which draw on her identity as a woman and as a member of a minority community, and take place in a wider context of violence against minorities in Bangladesh, where members of the Hindu community, Ahmadiyya Muslims and indigenous groups continue to face discriminatory practices.
Front Line Defenders recalls that human rights defenders must be able to carry out their peaceful and legitimate work, including participating in international forums, without intimidation or reprisals. Article 12(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a State party, guarantees everyone the right to leave any country, including their own. Investigative and administrative procedures must not be used to obstruct the legitimate work of human rights defenders and the organisations they lead.
Front Line Defenders calls on the authorities in Bangladesh to immediately lift the travel ban imposed on Shampa Goswami and cease all forms of harassment and intimidation against her, her family and PRERONA. Investigative and administrative procedures must not be used to restrict or penalise her peaceful and legitimate human rights work. Front Line Defenders further urges the authorities to carry out a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the threats, extortion attempts and online harassment targeting Shampa Goswami, her daughters and PRERONA staff, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards. The authorities should take all necessary measures, in consultation with the woman human rights defender, to guarantee her physical and psychological integrity and security, and that of her family and colleagues.
Front Line Defenders calls on the authorities to guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Bangladesh, including women human rights defenders and defenders from minority communities, are able to carry out their peaceful and legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free from arbitrary restrictions, including judicial and administrative harassment.
