The question which is being raised in the political circle is whether the provision of reserved seats for women should continue in today’s context as women have good representation in different fields. The 2008 elections showed that if the right women are nominated, they can win through direct votes.
Defying all odds 55 women contested in the 2008 election of whom 20 got elected.
The number of reserved seats was raised to 45 during the time of the last government. But 20 women were elected directly including the Leader of the House, Deputy Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition.
If a woman is directly elected, she gets a constituency and become a true partner in progress, without which she can only play a secondary role, said ambassador Nasim Firdaus.
Advocate Shahdeen Malik said, ” It is certainly time to reserve at least one constituency seat in every district for women in general election. In the process women’s participation in the parliament can be ensured through direct election ending “dependence on blessing of the party chief.”
Those who become MP on reserved seats, don’t have any constituency and are not acceptable as people’s representatives, said a political analyst . A section of influential leaders of major parties have been making money from wealthy aspirant candidates with promise of making them MP taking advantage of the system of reserved seats, he alleged.
Becoming a MP means besides social status facilities like duty free car, influence in administration, occasional foreign trips, free accommodation and allowances without any accountability to the people, he observed. The allocation of reserved seats by the Constitution has marginalised women’s participation in decision making, Nasim Firdaus said in a piece ” Women of Bangladesh: where are they?”
A general trend not to nominate women for direct elections from 1970- 2001, could perhaps be directly attributed to the reservation of seats, she said. The first Constitution of 1972 reserved 15 seats for women for 10 years and the first time women were elected to the reserved seats was on 5th April 1973.
In 1978 the number of reserved seats was raised to 30 and the period extended by another five years, from the day of the promulgation of the Constitution. The Constitution was amended in 1990 when 30 reserved seats were again incorporated for another 10 years. Ideally an equitable future would mean having proportional representation of women in decision-making positions at all levels in the parliament, cabinet and the bureaucracy to be set aside for women to be guaranteed by the Constitution. This will not only ensure women of their rights fully, but also do away with the need to revise the Constitution every time there is a demand for accommodating more women, Nasim Firdaus stated.
The presence of women representatives in both national and local level politics has remained rather low, although some concerned women demanded more representation in government and politics. Independent women’s groups, activists, and NGOs in Bangladesh such as “Women for Women”, “Naripokho”, “Bangladesh National Women’s Lawyer Association” (BNWLA), “Democracy Watch”, and “Khan Foundation” are strong advocates of women’s rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment.
One may recall here that Bangladeshi women participated in the anti-British political movement in the 1930s and 1940s. In the aftermath of independence in 1947, women also participated in the autonomy and democratic movements when Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan, Kamaluddin Ahmed said in a piece on ” Women and Politics in Bangladesh. Women make up nearly half of the population and work force of Bangladesh. It is essential that they participate in sufficient numbers in politics and government to ensure a truly democratic and representative government, he said.
