Bangladesh is a small country bordered by India, Mynamar, and the Bay of Bengal, with an overwhelming population of 146,736,000 (UNAIDS 2005). It is a socially conservative country where the majority of the population are practicing Muslims. This entry discusses the context of HIV/AIDS and women in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is at a real crossroads in terms of HIV/AIDS. While the percentage of HIV/AIDS reported cases is very low, in a country of almost 150 million people, even a small percentage of the population infected with the virus translate…