Women in Upazila Parishads: Male colleagues sideline many

Female vice-chairpersons of upazila parishads yesterday expressed frustration that they had to face obstacles in addressing issues related to development and women empowerment.

Speaking at a view-exchange meeting, they also said that despite being elected public representatives, they had to work with limitations and inadequate funds, which hampered their daily activities.

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad organised the view exchange with female vice-chairpersons and municipality mayors on strengthening local government through empowering women. The programme was held at The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital.

At present, 487 women are serving as vice-chairpersons and four others as municipality mayors, said Rekha Chowdhury, vice president of Mahila Parishad, while reading out a statement.

In a number of cases, female representatives complained of not getting much help from their male colleagues. "They were also isolated by their male colleagues," she added.

Around 70 vice-chairpersons and an elected female municipality mayor from Natore attended yesterday's event.

An upazila parishad consists of a chairman, two vice chairpersons (one of them a woman), chairmen of all union parishads under the upazila concerned, mayors of all municipalities, if there are any, and female members of the reserved seats.

Farida Parvin, vice-chairperson of Bhurungamari upazila parishad in Kurigram, said she heads a number of committees and forums working to ensure women's rights, but since she is a woman, her decisions were not “evaluated accordingly” while policies were made.

“I want to compete with my other colleagues to provide the best services,” she added.

Tuhin Aktar, vice chairperson of Netrakona Sadar upazila parishad, explained how her daily activities were being hampered due to the absence of a permanent mode of transport.

"I need to move here and there to deal with issues like stopping child marriage and attending village arbitrations in remote areas,” she said.

Speaking as a special guest, Uma Chowdhury, mayor of Natore Sadar municipality, said women are less involved in corruption than men. Female public representatives have to prove their capability through work and dedication, she said, adding that female ward councillors elected at reserved seats in her municipality receive due facilities.

Ajay Dasgupta, deputy editor of the Bangla daily Samakal, said the mass media learned a lot from women on how to write about gender issues and stories of violent incidents against them.

Mahila Parishad President Ayesha Khanam said political will and sharing of power can help empower women. Changing society's mindset is required for this, she said.