By P.K.Balachandran/Sunday Observer

Colombo, February 1 – The 13 th. Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh due on February 12, stand out for two features (1) the total absence of the Awami League, the country’s oldest party, in the field (2) the very small number of women candidates in the fray.

The Awami League was banned by the Interim Government led by Prof. Muhammad Yunus for alleged misrule. It is, therefore, not in the field at all. And women candidates are scarce due to rising lawlessness and intolerance of women under the Interim government led by Dr Yunus.

Supporters of democracy have decried the ban on the Awami League as its absence will call into question the legitimacy of the national elections. Supporters of the Awami League have been left high and dry, denied representation. And there is no one or no group to speak for it in Bangladesh today. The civil society and political parties have acquiesced in the government’s decision to erase the Awami League and its supporters from the country’s political canvas.

Women’s Representation 

Women have had the right to vote in Bangladesh. They have contested elections and produced two women Prime Ministers- Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). However, the number of women candidates in the February 12 elections is paltry. Only 3.84 % of candidates in Bangladesh parliamentary elections are women. But out of the total of l127 million voters, 64,814,907 are male, 62,879,042 are female, and 1,234 are third-gender.

A climate lawlessness, spawned by the July 2024 G-Z revolution, and exacerbated by the rejuvenation of intolerant Islamic parties, is cited as the reason for women avoiding electoral politics.

No Woman in 30 out of 51 Party Lists

Although 51 registered political parties are contesting the election, more than 30 of them—including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami—have not nominated a single woman candidate. Of the 2,568 nomination papers submitted, only 109 had been filed by women, accounting for just 4.24 percent of the total.

After representations and revision of the list, a total of 1,981 candidates, including 76 women, were in the fray, with women making up only 3.84% of the total.

But among voters, women and men are almost equal in numbers. According to the EC, there are 64.81 million men voters and 62.87 million women voters on the register.

Per the July 2025 National Consensus Ordinance, every political party should nominate women at least up to 5 percent for the 13 th. parliamentary elections. Eventually, the percentage should increase to 33. But that ordinance has been brazenly flouted.

Historically Low

However, it should be granted that, historically, women’s participation in electoral politics in Bangladesh has been low. According to Transparency International Bangladesh, women candidates accounted for just 3.51 percent in 2008, 5.55 percent in 2014, and 0.81 percent in 2018. The 12th parliament had 20 women members or 6.67 percent of the total membership, the highest in four consecutive parliaments. 

Party-Wise Distribution

Of the 51 parties contesting, only a few fielded women aspirants. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had nominated women for 15 constituencies but the candidatures of only 11 were validated. Nine women candidates are from the Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Marxist, 6 each from the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and the Insaniat Biplab Bangladesh, 5 each from the Ganasamhati Andolan and the Jatiya Party, and 3 each from Ganaodhikar Parishad (GOP).

The National Citizen Party (NCP), which emerged from the mass uprising in Julu-August 2024, , had only three women in its list of 44 candidates.

The Biplobi Workers Party nominated two; and the following parties, the Bangladesh Muslim League, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), the Bangladesh Supreme Party (BSP), the Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Basosd, the Bangladesh Republican Party, the National People’s Party (NPP), the Aamjanatar Dal, the Islami Front Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh Labour Party, nominated one female candidate each.

Among the 276 aspirants from the Jamaat-e-Islami, 268 from the Islami Andolon Bangladesh, 224 from the Jatiya Party, 104 from the Gano Odhikar Parishad, 94 from the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, and other smaller parties, there are no female candidates.

Though there are 64.81 million men and 62.87 million women in the electorate, women are largely deprived of the right to participate meaningfully in politics. Therefore, the HRW urged political parties to treat women’s nomination as a constitutional obligation rather than a token gesture and called for structural reforms to integrate women into leadership roles and ensure a gender-responsive political system.

At a press conference on “Nomination Crisis of Women Candidates: Gap between Parties’ Commitments and Implementation and the Accountability of the Election Commission” held at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, Reetu Satter pointed out that while women had played a prominent role in the uprising of July 2024, they have been denied the right to contest in the coming elections.

Violence and Harassment

Violence and harassment of women is a reason for women keeping away from active electoral politics. The HRW quoted data to show that gender-based violence increased between January and June 2025 compared to the same timeframe in 2024.

Dr. Fauzia Moslem, president of the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (Women’s Council of Bangladesh or BMP), attributes this increase to a rise in the rhetoric of Islamic radical groups seeking to restrict women’s free movement and participation in society.

In May 2025, hardline Islamic groups protested the interim government’s efforts to improve gender equality and demanded an end to activities they deemed “anti-Islamic.”  Since then, women and girls have experienced verbal, physical, and digital abuse. Their ability to speak is curbed.

The HRW said that the Bangladeshi government should consider recommendations by the country’s Women’s Affairs Reform Commission including increasing women’s parliamentary representation, adhere to the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace, and Security agenda, and comply with its obligations as a state party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Women in Bureaucracy, An Exception

However, educated Bangladeshi women are doing well in the country’s bureaucracy,at all levels. And the presence of women in key administrative positions is increasing, with a growing number of female officers taking on leadership roles.

According to the Ministry of Public Administration, at least 18 women officers are currently serving as Deputy Commissioners (DCs), 158 as Upazila Nirbahi (Executive) officers (UNOs), 63 as Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs), and 141 as Assistant Commissioners (AC land).

Women are also making strides in the central administration, with at least 14 women serving as Secretaries to the government, including one Senior Secretary. Additionally, 69 women hold the rank of Additional Secretary, 173 are Joint Secretaries, 390 are Deputy Secretaries, 668 are Senior Assistant Secretaries, and 306 women serve as Assistant Secretaries.

However, despite progress, female officers continue to face challenges in leadership roles.

According to The Daily Star, Netrokona DC Banani Biswas said, “Serving as a DC is a challenge for both male and female officers, but as a woman, it’s even more challenging. To tackle this, we need to improve the skills of women and also work towards changing the societal mindset.”

Faizul Wasima Nahat, UNO of Kalmakanda upazila, Netrokona, shared her struggles, “As a female officer, I face double the challenges. People are still not accustomed to seeing women in the UNO’s chair. Acceptance is different for male officers. It’s tougher for women in this role.”

However, Farida Yesmin, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Public Works, offered a different perspective, saying that her experience as a former UNO was mostly positive.

“While working in the field, I received respect from most people, which made the pressure of the job more enjoyable. However, carrying out development work was difficult due to local vested interest groups. If one works with integrity and courage, no one belittles a female officer. On the contrary, the general public encourages her.”

END