It’s still a man’s world in politics

Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, the reins of the government have always been in the hands of a woman (except during the state of emergency in 2007-08). Yet, women's participation in politics has been frustrating and often largely ceremonial, as highlighted by the extremely low number of women who have contested national or even local elections over the last three decades. That trend, as things currently stand, is likely to continue in the upcoming 12th parliamentary election as well. As a report by this daily shows, only 128 female candidates are set to contest the election from 99 seats—for a 300-seat parliament—making up a measly 4.71 percent of the total 2,713 candidates approved by the Election Commission.

This is not just disappointing but also worrisome in terms of fair representation on the political stage. The Representation of the People Order (RPO) stipulates that political parties should ensure that 33 percent of all their committee posts are held by women, including in central committees. Yet, our political parties have repeatedly failed to meet this obligation. In this male-dominated domain, women politicians seldom get proper support or encouragement, in yet another manifestation of our still largely patriarchal society.

The reigning theory seems to be that male candidates get preferences because men can better mobilise the streets and are generally more popular, hence likely to win more votes. By thinking along this line, instead of working towards changing negative perceptions so that a candidate's merit, sincerity and records of public service are judged, parties make it harder for women to seek leadership opportunities. In our current volatile political climate, the matter of safety is also a big issue. One may recall incidents of sexually violent attacks on women voters after the 2018 election. Not only voters, but sometimes sexual violence has been used to intimidate women candidates as well. Such attacks, as well as the lack of an enabling environment within party structures, have had the effect of discouraging many voters and potential candidates. 

The political instability that we are currently witnessing, with BNP and other like-minded parties rejecting the election, is unlikely to be resolved soon. But even then, as the president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad has put it, a conducive environment is a must to increase women's participation in polls. Unless the political parties and the Election Commission bring necessary reforms/changes in how things presently are, it is all but certain that we are going to have another election where one half of the country's population will remain woefully underrepresented.