Female lawmakers on Thursday advocated for a dedicated law to establish a public fund for female politicians to enhance their participation in politics.
During a meeting, organised by Democracy International in Dhaka, they emphasised the importance of public funding to increase women鈥檚 representation in general seats in elections.
The event, part of DI鈥檚 鈥楴arir Joye Shobar Joy鈥�, When Women Win, We All Win, campaign and funded by the USAID, featured 10 current and former lawmakers from the Awami League and Jatiya Party.
The female lawmakers focused on equitable campaign funding for female candidates, who often face financial constraints and insufficient party support, compared to their male counterparts.
To address these issues, they plan to introduce a private members鈥� bill in parliament advocating for public funding in future elections.
They also urged political parties to increase funding and nominations for women, ensuring equitable support for female politicians.
Dana L Olds, chief of party at Democracy International, emphasised the importance of male colleagues actively participating in creating a more inclusive political landscape in Bangladesh.
Abdul Alim, principal director of Democracy International, who presented a draft private members鈥� bill, noted that gender-targeted public funding had successfully enhanced women鈥檚 political participation and achieved gender balance in other countries.
鈥楾he draft bill will be shared with key stakeholders, including the speaker of parliament and the parliamentary standing committee鈥�, said DI senior director Lipika Biswas.
Reserved seat lawmakers from the Awami League, including Aroma Dutta, Mahfuza Sultana Moli, Drowpodi Dabi Agarwala, Shahida Tareq Dipti, and Ashrafun Nesa, attended the event, among others.