The High Court on Monday announced that the sex of unborn babies cannot be disclosed.

As per the court order, the unethical practice of revealing the sex of fetuses will be stopped.

The full text of the judgement, delivered on February 25, 2024, by a HC bench comprising Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque, was published on Monday (May 11).

In its observations, the court said revealing the sex of a fetus violates women`s dignity, equality and right to life, and contradicts both constitutional guarantees and international human rights obligations.

The bench noted that Bangladesh has long lacked an effective regulatory, monitoring and accountability framework to prevent unethical fetal sex disclosure practices.

It said merely issuing guidelines is insufficient without proper enforcement, digital surveillance and institutional oversight.

The judgment further stated that sex determination of fetuses increases the risk of discrimination against girl children and potential female foeticide, which conflicts with Articles 18, 27, 28, 31 and 32 of the Constitution.

The writ petition was filed on January 26, 2020, by Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan seeking a ban on the disclosure of fetal gender.