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Women are half of the world’s population. They are not just fancies and show pieces of
the house. They are partners to men in every spheres of life. So the presence of women in
politics cannot be ignored. Women are part and parcel of society. They are the nerve of
the society. We cannot deny their role in the global society. We cannot imagine a body
without a heart. Similarly it is not to think a societal improvement without the
participation of the women with this view in mind our national poet quoted that “the
creation of the world whatever great and beneficial for human being are shared fifty
by man and fifty percent women”. Women’s equal participation in political life plays a
pivotal role in the general process of the advancement of women. Without the active
participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspective at all levels of
decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved. In
Bangladesh the condition of women has improved noticeably in all spheres of life. Now
they are present in almost all profession. Women are also participating in political
activities as both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition are female. But it is
not up to the mark. It is true that now women are participating in political activities but
they play a little role in decision making process which makes them inferior than the
men. In Bangladesh, traditional gender roles keep most women from gaining political
power.
At present, both the head of the government and leader of the opposition are woman.
However, it is a matter of honor as well as sporadic for the all other women in
Bangladesh. We have to take into account that, which percentage women in Bangladesh
are engaged in the mainstream economic and political process in our country. Without the
empowerment of women in politics, it’s not possible to implement the human rights of
them. In Bangladeshi politics the role of women is confined to the voting right only.
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During election, they only cast their vote on the vote centre and it seems that it is the only
responsibility of women in our politics.
Bangladesh is historically and traditionally a highly patriarchal society. All the processes,
values and institutions that are associated with the construction of the country are
gendered. The institutions and values of this gendered state always privilege masculinity.
Women in Bangladesh have to fight with gender boundaries that assign them a
subordinate position within patriarchal ideology, the essential feature of which is
domination and supremacy of men and powerlessness and invisibility of women in
almost all spheres of their lives. In Bangladesh, the existing patriarchal system reinforces
women’s dependency on men, and men have strong reservations regarding women in
leadership and management positions. Patriarchal values and institutions here do not
demonstrate positive and supportive views about women leadership and nobody takes
into account the patriarchal norms and institutions which are deeply rooted in the
country’s politics. If we look at the statistics, we see that in the 1st Parliament no woman
was elected in general seats. In the 2nd Parliament there were only 2 women elected from
general seats. The scenario was the same in the 3rd to the 8th Parliaments. Though the
number of women elected in general seats in the 9th Parliament was more than that of the
previous parliaments, it is very small in comparison to the number of male
parliamentarians. The number of women MPs in the 9th Parliament is 65. It is a matter of
great regret that the women representatives filled the 50 reserved seats not through direct
elections but through nomination of the three hundred elected representatives. More
importantly, the experience of women’s representation in the Bangladesh Parliament
across the years, with such a number and with such a system of election, has raised
questions about the effectiveness of women’s participation in the parliamentary process.
Although both the head of the two main parties are woman but the presence of women in
political party are extremely low. Let’s take a look at the following chart▬►
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Political Parties Committees Total Members Female
Members
Bangladesh National Permanent Committee 14 1
Nationalist Party National Executive Committee 164 11
(BNP)
Bangladesh Presidium and Secretariat 36 5
Awami League Executive Committee 64 5
Jatiya Party National Permanent Committee 31 2
[Ershad] National Executive Committee 201 6
Jamat-e-Islami Majlish-E-Shura 141 -
Bangladesh Majlish-E-Amla 24 -
It is argued that men dominate the political arena; men formulate the rules of the political
game; and men define the standards for evaluation. The existence of this male-dominated
model results in either women rejecting politics altogether or rejecting male-style politics.
In Bangladesh, the political participation of women in Parliament remains profoundly
weak, and the effectiveness of their participation is even weaker. The very small presence
of women in the political party structures and in Parliament is indicative of the very low
level of their involvement in the country’s political arena as well as in the legislative
process. Though political parties in Bangladesh made commitments to women’s
advancement in their respective election manifestos, in reality they nominated very few
female candidates in past elections.
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In Bangladesh, women’s participation in the electoral process has increased since 1979
and the scenarios have significantly improved in the last three parliamentary elections
(1991, 1996 and 2001) under the Care Taker Governments. Nevertheless, their
participation in electoral and legislative politics are still insignificant as it is less than 2
percent of the overall candidates and percentage of women won in the general seats never
exceeded 2 percent in the parliament elections. It is unusual that 48 percent of total voters
are women but their representation in the legislature is only 2 percent.
Although women do not hold key positions during the electoral process, they render
significant contributions during election campaigns by taking part in organizing public
meetings, processions, and rallies. Women leaders and party workers engage in the task
of mobilizing and canvassing voters, particularly women, for their party candidates. By
making special arrangements such as separate election booths for women, and females
presiding as polling officers, the turnout rate of women voters has increased. During the
general elections of 1991 and 1996, and local level elections in 1993 and 1997, the level
of enthusiasm among women to exercise their voting rights was very encouraging.
Because of the special arrangements and security measures taken by the Government,
there were few disturbances and the presence of women in polling centers was
significant.
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[Source: The Election Commission of Bangladesh, Islami Jatiya Oikyo Front, Unified Jatiyo
Samajtantrik Dal (JSD)]
1996 2001
Party
Total Female Total Female
Candidates Candidates Candidates Candidates
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Jatiya Party (Manju) - - 140 3
JSD (E) 30 1 - -
BSD (K) 31 2 37 1
Vasani Front 1 1 - -
Janadal 5 1 - -
[Source: The Election Commission of Bangladesh. * Islami Jatiya Oikyo Front (IJOF), **
Unified Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD] )
If we take a global view, women’s representation in our national parliament is not poor in
comparison with the other regions of the world. The total woman participation in the
parliament is about 16.7% in Asia, while it is about 18.6% in Bangladesh. On a regional
basis, the Nordic countries are clearly ahead. Therefore, the proportion of women in the
parliament is obviously noticeable when we compare the situation of Bangladesh with
some other countries. Statistics shows that Rwanda has done exceptionally well, having
56.3% women parliamentarians, with Sweden placed second.
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Condition of Women in Local Government
Women were first elected to local bodies in 1973. The Union Parishad Election of 1997
is a milestone in the history of political empowerment of women in Bangladesh. The
Government of Bangladesh enacted a law for direct elections to reserve seats for
women in local level elections. In 1997 through an Act, the Government reserved three
seats for women in the union parishad where women members are elected from each of
the three respective wards. Apart from the reserved seats women can also contest for
any of the general seats. Previously, the process of selection of the women
representatives was on the basis of nominations and/or indirect election. Around 12,828
women were elected as members in the 1997 local level elections. A total of 20 and
110 women were elected as chairpersons and members, respectively, for general seats.
The Government has already issued different executive orders to ensure women
members’ participation in various decision-making committees.
The majority of women representatives regularly attended parishad meetings, but only
a few of them participated in the deliberations and decisions. The female
representatives usually involved themselves with mass education, family planning,
immunization, handicrafts, relief activity, and shalish (mediation in the village court).
The women representatives have the potentials to become change agents for rural
women and various NGOs. A few government institutions such as the National
Institute of Local Government are training women on various development-related
issues, legal aid, and organizational structure of local bodies and their roles and
functions to enable them play their role effectively.
It is argued that men dominate the political arena; men formulate the rules of the political
game; and men define the standards for evaluation. The existence of this male-dominated
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model results in either women rejecting politics altogether or rejecting male-style
politics. In theory, the right to stand for elections, to become a candidate, and to get
elected, is based on the right to vote. The reality is, however, that women's right to
vote remains restricted principally because the only candidates to vote for are male.
This is true not only for partial and developing democracies, but for established
democracies as well. Among the political obstacles that women face, the following
features are the dominant ones:
The lack of party support, such as limited financial support for women
candidates; limited access to political networks; and the prevalence of double
standards;
The lack of contact and co-operation with other public organizations such
as trade unions and women's groups;
The absence of well-developed education and training systems for women's
leadership in general, and for orienting young women toward political life in
particular;
The nature of the electoral system, which may or may not be favourable
to women candidates. Nadezdha Shvedovz, Obstacles to Woman’s Participation
in Parliament,
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Women's perception of politics as a "dirty" game and as ‘corrupt
The way in which women are portrayed in the mass media.
Socio-economic Obstacles►►
Various factors can complicate women's entry into parliament, such as:
Women's inadequate access to and integration into political institutions as the
tailoring of many of these institutions is according to male standards and political
attitudes;
Lack of party support, including money and other resources to fund women's
campaigns and boost their political, social and economic credibility;
Women's low self-esteem and self-confidence, supported by certain cultural
patterns which do not facilitate women's access to political careers; and,
The type of electoral system as well as the lack of quota reservations. Although
the perception of corruption may not always be a fair reflection of the actual state
of affairs, it is itself having an impact on women's attitude towards a political
career. Is it a coincidence that countries with a small or moderate degree of
corruption seem to have a higher rate of women's representation in elected bodies?
According to the Transparency International Report of 2008, countries such as
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Kenya, Russia, Syria, Bangladesh and others are perceived to be one of the most
corrupt (ranked 10).
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Bangladesh is very poor country, occasionally beset by natural disasters that further
hamper development. Annual per capita income among the population of
approximately 19.2 million is approximately $380; the economic growth rate during
the last fiscal year was approximately 6 percent. Slightly more than half of all children
are chronically malnourished. Approximately 65 percent of the work force is involved
in agriculture, which accounts for for one-fourth of the gross domestic product. The
economic is market based, but the government owns all utilities, most transport
companies, and many large manufacturing and distribution firms. Small, wealthy elite
controls much of the private economy, but there is an emerging middle class. Foreign
investment has increased significantly in the gas sector and in electrical power
generation facilities. Bangladesh’s estimated over 150 million inhabitants are 90
percent Muslim. The country has a secular legal system, though on issues of
inheritance and marriage, Muslims follow Shariah law. “To bring changes to the
narrow political culture, 33 percent women’s representation must be ensured by any
means,” said Ayesha Khanam, president of the National Women’s Association, ”the
government will initiate a process to abolish all laws that discriminate against women”
According to Sultana Kamal, a former adviser to the government and now head of the
Centre for Law and Arbitration, a legal aid non-governmental organization (NGO), the
NWDP failed to mention anything about the UN Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the uniform family code, or the equal right
of women to inherit property. Women in different religions get different shares of
properties – equal in some religions and less in others. Our demand was to formulate a
uniform family code giving women equal rights. The issue was not made clear in the
policy.
Concluding Remarks►►
Women’s participation in politics is a big issue for attaining actual democracy and
equality. It is also an issue about women’s actual citizenship. It is impossible for
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women to gain power, authority, and honour through indirect election. It makes them
dependent on male members of their party. Moreover, members elected through
indirect elections cannot feel any accountability for their own election areas. Article 28
of the Constitution declares that women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres
of the state and of public life. Different NGOs and women activists raise their voice in
demanding direct election of women for the reserved seats. When women become
members of the parliament through direct elections, their decision-making power,
reputation and honour will rise automatically; they will be able to take decisions
according to their wish. We have to make a level field for women, which will make
their entrance into the country’s politics easy.
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References:
[Bangladesh] Women in politics: What should be the focus? by Aisha
Siddika, M. Mizanur Rahman, The Daily Star, 28 November 2010]
WOMEN REPRESENTATION AT THE JATIYA SANGSAD: AN OPINION
SURVEY. JULY 2003 [Sponsored by ►►The British Council, Dhaka,
Bangladesh.]
JOURNAL OF ASIAN WOMEN’S STUDIES. Vol-14, 14-12-2005,
Kitakysushu Forum in Asian women.
A SURVEY ON REPRESENTATION AND VIOLANCE AGAINST W
OMEN IN POLITICS IN BANGLADESH Conducted by HRW, 7 Circuit
House Road, Ramna, Dhaka. Tel: 9344225-6, Fax: 880-2-8315807, e-
mail: dwatch@ bangla.net www.dwatch-bd.org M ARCH 2009.
নারী ও রাজনীতি-সামসুন্নাহার খান মমরী, অধ্যাপক আব্দুল মান্নান।
৬২-৭১।
N:B: It was not possible to provide those survey report due to the
page/print limitation...I can provide you soft copies.
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