Women’s representation in leadership positions in the country’s political parties — both old and newly formed ones — remains negligible, reflecting structural barriers to women’s inclusion in politics.
Despite legal obligations, the registered political parties in Bangladesh have failed to ensure 33 per cent women representation in their committees.
Rights activists attributed the low number of women in the political parties’ leadership positions to the Election Commission’s lax approach to enforcing the Representation of People Order, 1972, which mandates political parties to allocate at least 33 per cent of all committee posts to women.
The RPO 1972 was scheduled to be implemented by 2020, but as the political parties failed to meet the requirement by the timeframe, the deadline was extended to 2030.
The parties had 12 years to meet the target set by the Election Commission in 2008.
The Election Commission could not provide any data on the current status of women’s representation in the 48 registered political parties.
The commission in July 2023 amended the RPO, extending the deadline for achieving at least 33 per cent women’s membership in political party committees to 2030, as 38 out of 41 registered parties until 2020 failed to ensure even 20 per cent female representation.
Data from different political parties reveal a significant shortfall in women’s representation in their central executive committees.
In the 217-member central committee of the newly formed, National Citizen Party, only 24 positions are held by women, accounting for just 11 per cent of the total committee members.
In the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s 509-member central executive committee, only 69 are women, accounting for just 13.7 per cent.
Bangladesh Mahila Parishad general secretary Maleka Banu said that the Election Commission was responsible for monitoring whether the political parties were complying with the RPO.
She criticised the commission for not exerting pressure on the parties to meet this requirement.
She also observed that if the political parties truly aimed to establish a democratic system, they must include women, who make up nearly half of the population, in their committees.
In the Jatiya Party, women occupy only 45 of the 365 positions in the central committee, making up 12.32 per cent.
Awami League’s 2022–25 central executive committee included 18 women, representing 23 per cent of the total 78 members.
These figures underscore the persistent gender disparity in political party leadership, with none of the major parties close to meeting the legally mandated 33 per cent female representation.
Political parties have acknowledged that women’s participation in political leadership in Bangladesh remains low, attributing the situation to the prevailing hostile attitude in society towards women’s involvement in politics.
‘We have information regarding women’s representation in the registered political parties, but now we do not have the time to compile those. We compile the data on a need-to-know basis,’ Election Commission senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· on March 6.
Asked how the EC is monitoring progress without having data on the matter, he said that a review would be carried out in a timely and proper manner.
BNP standing committee member Selima Rahman on March 6 told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that the requirement of at least 33 per cent women’s representation in political party committees should be upheld to promote women’s empowerment and advancement.
She said that persistent hostility towards women in politics continued to hinder their participation and representation.
Selima said that the BNP was committed to increasing women’s participation within the party and meeting the 33 per cent target, with instructions already given to the policy-making level to achieve this goal.
Jatiya Party secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu stated that the party planned to increase women’s participation in leadership at the party’s upcoming council scheduled for June.
Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince said that women held 20.40 per cent of the positions in the party’s central executive committee.
Candidates for the central and district committees are elected through voting, he said, adding that parties might initially field at least 33 per cent or more women candidates, but the numbers often changed after the voting.
Ruhin said that many female colleagues were not yet eligible for higher positions as such roles demand significant time commitments, which women might struggle to fulfil due to various reasons, including family responsibilities.
Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki said that women currently held 10 per cent of the positions in the party’s central executive committee.
He said that the party aimed to gradually achieve a more balanced representation of women in its committees, in proportion to the population.
National Citizen Party senior joint convener Samanta Sharmin said that they were considering the requirement of 33 per cent women’s representation as part of the party’s registration process.
She said that more women members would be included in the committee gradually.
