The electoral field may now be getting more gender balanced, and that is a good sign for the future

It is good to see a total of 22 women poised to take their oaths as lawmakers in the 11th parliament — the highest number of female lawmakers ever.

Women in the workforce are currently contributing to about 34% of our total GDP growth, which is no small matter considering that women make up about 29% of the total labour force.

There is no reason for parliamentary participation of women to lag behind, and this year we have seen better numbers than past years, although the number of women in parliament is still small relative to the number of men.

Historically, our political culture has always been tipped in favour of men, and money and political muscle have usually taken precedence over competence; as a result, women have not gotten a fair chance.

The electoral field may now be getting more gender balanced, and that is a good sign for the future.

This year, prominent faces include Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, JaPa leader Rowshan Ershad, and Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury.

Less prominent politicians and newcomers face a tougher battle, and although there are quotas in place for women in politics, most parties tend to bypass any such rules by putting women in minor posts.

As Bangladesh moves forward, the country needs gender equality in all sectors, and with women making major contributions in every field conceivable, there is no reason their numbers should lag behind in the political process.

Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune

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Where can women be safe in this country? DHAKA TRIBUNE
 

Bangla Tribune, one of the country’s leading online news portals, published one of my articles on Wednesday on violation against women in Bangladesh. In the piece, I thanked actor Mosharraf Karim for raising an issue of “decent and indecent attire of women” on a television program.

While discussing rape in Bangladesh, the issue of women’s attire came up and he questioned: “If indecent attire is the reason for rape, why was then a seven-year-old child and a burqa-clad woman raped?”

The audience didn’t understand Mosharraf’s question and thought he had attacked religion. Later, he apologized for asking that question regarding women’s attire.

My subject of today’s article is not Mosharraf, but the psyche of the male population in Bangladesh. When my Bangla Tribune piece was posted on its official Facebook page, the followers called me names and tried to brand me an atheist. More importantly (and surprisingly), some of the comments clearly stated that it was logical to violate a woman, if she allures men by wearing indecent attire.

For a moment, I felt sad about the shower of attacks against me, but later I was simply depressed realizing the Bangladeshi male psychology’s take on abuse and harassment of women.

Although most of the men who commented in the thread don’t represent the entire male population of Bangladesh, yet it was enough for me to fathom the partial picture. Most of them thought it is okay to rape a woman, if she wears “indecent” attire.

Appalling.

These people lack the basic understanding of what is abuse or harassment; at the same time, they also don’t have any idea about what religions say about the violence and harassment of women. As a man, I felt belittled by their attitude towards women.

This brings me to the overall picture of how men behave with the women of the country. According to a BBC Bangla report, citing research by ActionAid, about 50% of women have said they have experienced “uninvited touches” while they shopped in the market places. More than 42% of women have said that they encountered bad behaviour while seeking medical services in the hospitals.

The women who responded to the research survey also said they suffer from various kinds of physical harassment in their daily life which they don’t talk about. They don’t talk about it because they know there won’t be any action taken against such harassment.

Ask the women who commute on public transport every day. From bus conductors to other male passengers — everyone, irrespective of age, tries to take advantage of congested spaces within the vehicle and inappropriately “touch” female passengers, every chance they get. And there are plenty of chances, every day and in every bus.

Ask the woman who travels alone on rickshaws: How do the men driving the vehicle behave with them?

The roads, the schools, the workplaces, even their own homes are not safe from abuse and harassment

One time, a friend of mine experienced sexual assault inside a bus. When she protested and sought justice from the passengers sitting in the bus, no one said anything — as if nothing has happened, as if it was normal for the abuser to do what he did; and shockingly, in response, everyone told her to shut up.
On the other hand, the male-dominated media only talks about abuse of women on March 8, very year — on International Women’s Day. Otherwise, we keep silent regarding the gravity of this epidemic issue during the rest of the year.

The period reports of rape do surface in the media, but the follow-ups are never enough to address the issue effectively and thoroughly. At the state level, the issue of sexual violence against women is not addressed properly either.

A female colleague of mine was telling us that as women, they live in constant fear about being physically abused by men. The roads, the schools, the workplaces, even their own homes are not safe from abuse and harassment. Men utilize every opportunity to harass them. She also explained to us how women have developed their individual defense mechanisms. Some succeed, but most do not; and in either case, living a life like this is a constant trauma for them.

This condition doesn’t seem like healthy atmosphere to live in. Formulating laws haven’t helped much — women are still being physically abused when they step out of their homes, they are still deemed sexual objects by men, and they are still being battered in their own homes.

We couldn’t bring about any positive change among the men of the country. Well, some men say they are ashamed to observe other men’s attitude towards women. I guess that’s a change — at least, some feel, rightfully, ashamed.

Ekram Kabir is a story-teller and a columnist.

First published on Dhaka Tribune
 

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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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