Staff Reporter, Rangpur :
Aparajita and Nari Unnayan Forum staged a human chain in front of Rangpur Press Club on Monday noon demanding 33 per cent inclusion of women in committees of all levels of political parties and 7 points including extension of new term.
President of Aparajita Network Ratna Parveen, Member of Mahila Parishad Parveen Akhter, Women Vice Chairman of Rangpur Sadar Upazila Kajli Begum, Members of Aparajita Network Kumudini Rani, Argina Begum and others spoke at Press Club Chattar, Rangpur.
In the afternoon, a press conference was held at the cluster office at Guptapara in Rangpur metropolis. President of Women’s Development Forum Parveen Akhter read out a written statement at the press conference.
In a written statement, it was said that Article 90B of the Representation of the People Order of the Bangladesh Election Commission-1972 (Amendment-2009) states that 33% representation of women in all committees, including the Central Committee of all political parties, must be ensured by 2020. But some political parties in Bangladesh are including women in the committee, which is less than the target. The progress of women’s participation in the central and local committees of other parties including Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party is not very good. The written statement further said that the number of political parties registered with the Bangladesh Election Commission is 44. Representation of the People Order-1972 (Amendment-2009), Representation of 33% Women-2020 has expired. The Election Commission of Bangladesh has removed the chapter on party registration from the Representation of the People Order and enacted a new law (draft) called ‘Political Party Registration Act-2020’ which has not been implemented yet. The draft law calls for the inclusion of 33% women in all levels of political parties and has a proposal to extend the deadline by 2030.
Project Coordinator Firoz Kabir Jugal, Program Coordinator Rezaul Karim, Nilphamari District Coordinator Kamal Hossain Shah, Gangachara Co-ordinator Abdul Khaleq among others spoke at the press conference.
