Women’s representation in Bangladesh Parliament may seem satisfactory in terms of number, but when it comes to active participation in policy-making and public service, the picture is quite different.

In the current parliament, there are a total of 71 women lawmakers, 50 of whom occupy reserved seats. The elected lawmakers are mostly from the Awami League. Despite occupying one-fifth of the parliamentary seats, the women lawmakers do not get the same space as their male counterparts in decision-making and legislative processes, and are also held back in terms of facilities and allocations.

“The difference between allocations to the elected MPs [members of parliament] and the reserved seat MPs is huge, but we work as hard as the elected MPs,” said Safura Begum, Awami League lawmaker from Reserved Seat 2.

Gender-based discrimination is also a huge obstacle.

“Competing against our male colleagues is difficult; negative bias against women still exists in the political parties. Our male colleagues do not want to see us rise, and we face discriminatory attitudes even from our leaders,” said Hazera Khatun, the sole reserved seat MP from the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh.
 

Reserved seats hold no authority

The provision of reserved seats for women was introduced in the first parliament in 1973, with 15 seats reserved for women in addition to the 300 general seats. The number was later raised to 50 gradually.

The reserved seat MPs are not accountable to any constituencies like the elected MPs are, and they do not have a direct role in policy-making and legislative processes.

“We do not have any specific role to play, nor do we get specific instructions from the government,” said Awami League lawmaker Selina Jahan Lita from Reserved Seat 1.

However, reserved seat MPs have to work at the upazila-level, with an MP sometimes covering as many as 12 upazilas at once, said Awami League lawmaker Selina Akhter Banu from Reserved Seat 7.

“Yet, the [financial] allocation that we get to do our work is nothing compared to what the elected MPs get,” she told the Dhaka Tribune. “We get a lump sum, while the elected MPs receive three times the size of the allocation we receive.”

Workers’ Party lawmaker Hazera Khatun said: “All we can do is just raise the local issues and demands in parliament. The government does not really do anything to help us with our work.”

Gender bias still a huge problem

The political arena in Bangladesh is still dominated by men, and very few women succeed in rising up and taking the lead, said several women MPs.

Compared to their male counterparts, women political leaders do not get nearly enough backing during elections, nor the financial support, access to political networks, or cooperation within their parties – which is the main obstacle to the political empowerment of women, they added.

“Women are still afraid to stand against men when it comes to fighting for candidacy in general seats,” said Mahabub Ara Begum Gini, Awami League lawmaker elected from Gaibandha 2 constituency.

“Our male colleagues are not supportive enough to see us grow and take leadership roles in politics,” said Lutfa Taher, the sole reserved seat lawmaker from Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal. “This is why we have lost many aspiring women leaders with great potential.”

The number of elected women lawmakers in parliament is still too small, and that is because the political environment is not in favour of women, said Shirin Akhter, the only elected woman lawmaker from Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal.

“The lack of financial support is a big factor here. Women politicians still do not know how to raise money in politics, so in most cases – unless they have support of their families – they do not get enough money to get nominations or run their own campaigns,” she added.

Another huge factor is that most women political leaders lack clout on the ground, commented some lawmakers.

“If the government wants to empower women in politics, they have to give us the opportunity to step into more active roles,” said Reserved Seat 1 lawmaker Selina Jahan Lita. “More women must be given nominations – based on their qualifications – to take part in elections from general seats.”

The lawmakers also said the number of women representatives in the House should be increased to ensure the political empowerment of women.

Rowshan Ara Mannan, Jatiya Party lawmaker from Reserved Seat 47, said: “The government must raise the number of reserved seats in parliament to 60 from 50, and at least 60 women candidates should be nominated in general seats.”

This Article was first published on Dhaka Tribune

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The bias against having girls may be declining in Bangladesh as parents are showing an increasing indifference to the sex of their first child, experts say.

“Women’s dependence on men for protection and provision at different stages of their lives gave them a strong stake in producing sons – both to ensure their own place within their husband’s kinship group and as a form of security for their old age,” said Simeen Mahmud, coordinator of the Centre for Gender and Social Transformation (CGST) at Brac University’s Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), who has conducted research on this issue.

“But with growing number of girls going to schools and increased employment opportunities for women, these stakes have been lowered.”

The Brac Development Institute (BDI) found that a much larger portion of parents reported being indifferent to the sex of the child compared to neighbouring countries, while families already having a son were expressing an outright preference for a daughter. The findings were laid out in a study published in 2012, one of the latest reports on parents’ traditional preference for male children.

The study ‘Diverging Stories of Son Preference in South Asia: A comparison of India and Bangladesh’ was carried out in eight villages of eight districts. The BDI found that parents were less likely to discriminate between sons and daughters than in the past with respect to survival and investments in human capital.

According to a comparison of surveys of one village in Faridpur, in 1979 around 44% of women aged under 34 and 59% of women aged over 34 wanted sons, but this fell to 20% and 22% among the same age groups in 2009.

Similar studies also found 62% to 75% people preferred to have a boy during the 1970s and the 1980s. But the Brac study found around 47% people were indifferent to the sex of the child.

According to this study, Bangladesh is in a better position than neighbouring India, which is struggling with its sex ratio because of the widespread use of sex-selective abortion. Many Indian parents use ultrasound technology to find the sex of the child and abort it if it happens to be a girl.

“I am too happy with my first child- a girl – and I hope my daughter will be like me,” said Shamanta Rahman, a banker, who recently gave birth to the child.

“Both girls and boys are doing equally well. If the next child is a boy, then it would be nice for the family.

“In our society families now want a combination between girl and boy children. Mostly families ideally want a boy and a girl. Those who are happy with only daughters, they want to educate them. The discrimination is seen in low-income families mostly,” said Shamanta.

The population sex ratio in the country now stands at 93 males to 100 females while the sex ratio at birth came down from 108:100 in 1975 to 104:100 in 2009.

Simeen Mahmud of Brac University said families used to prefer sons as boys were considered to be more beneficial, but the situation has changed as girls are becoming highly educated and women’s empowerment is on rise.

Educationist and social activist Rasheda K Choudhury thinks the increased economic participation of women has enabled the change in social attitudes.

“Women’s participation in rural economies, labour force, foreign economy, and all aspects of the society is on the rise. Because of this, now they are being sent to get primary education, secondary education and even higher education,” she said.

Dr Syed Md Saikh Imtiaz, chairman at the department of women and gender studies at Dhaka University, said the rate of girls’ enrolment in education has increased and that various schemes undertaken by the government is gradually changing society.

However, although women are becoming financially independent, Dr Syed said they still face a disproportionate threat of violence.

“Incidents of rape are on the rise. The government needs to strengthen the legal system to protect girls from violence. The government’s steps can reduce discrimination against women,” he said.

Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune
 

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