In Bangladesh, there is a broad consensus that women’s political participation is necessary for both the democratic development of the country as well as women’s empowerment. Indeed, Bangladesh has demonstrated some success in increasing the number of elected female representatives over the years.
The constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh recognizes that all citizens are equal before law under Article 27 and undertakes to give them equal opportunities under Article 29. However, in reality all sections of the society are not yet equal and do not get the same opportunities. Though women are half of the population, they are under-represented in each and every sphere of the society. Therefore, the need for special provisions for any disadvantaged section of the society was recognised. Parliament - the legislature – is one of the three core organs of the State. Unfortunately, women are deeply underrepresented there. To compete with their male counterparts, the women in our country are in a disadvantaged situation, for their status is perceived to be unequal and considered to be subordinated to that of men in the society.
Bearing all these in mind, the provisions of reserved seats for women were incorporated in the original constitution. The purpose was to secure a minimum representation of women in Parliament and to ensure a wider participation by them in national politics. Whatever the noble reason, cause or philosophy it might have been, those who framed the constitution did not apply their cautious mind to make the selection system democratic, effective and meaningful. Although the provision was initially made for a specific period of 10 years and was then extended through constitutional amendments by the subsequent governments, the method of selection of the women to fill reserved seats has remained same which has made the whole effort and purpose meaningless.
As per Article 65(3) of the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, women members on the reserved seats shall be elected by the Members of Parliament (MPs) in accordance with law on the basis of the procedure of proportional representation in Parliament through the single transferable vote. Thus, reserved seats are allocated to parties in proportion to their overall share of the seats in Parliament. In Bangladesh, women may contest a general seat either by representing a political party if they are awarded a party ticket or as an independent candidate. However, most women run for reserved seats as these are easier for women to contest than general seats. This practice is in accordance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), ratified by Bangladesh in 1984, which specifies that “these types of measures shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention.
Bangladesh first introduced a quota for women in the 1972 constitution for a period of 10 years, with 15 seats reserved for women in addition to the 300 general seats. In 1979, a constitutional amendment increased the number of women’s reserved seats to 30 for a total period of 15 years. This amendment expired in 1987, and as a result, there were no reserved seats in the subsequent election. The 10th amendment to the constitution in 1990 included a new provision of 30 seats for 10 years, which ended in 2000. In the eighth parliament elected in 2001 there was no quota for women, but it passed the 14th amendment to the constitution, which guaranteed 45 seats for women for a period of 10 years. To give effect to Article 65(3) of the Constitution, Parliament, on 29th November 2004, enacted the Jatiya Sangsad (Reserved Seats for Women) Election Act 2004 for holding indirect election by the 300 directly elected MPs. This was increased to 50 seats with the 15th amendment in 2011. The period of 10 years expires prior to the next scheduled general election in 2019.
Recently this year, the Law Ministry proposed to extend the tenure of women MPs (reserved seat) in parliament by 20 years. The Cabinet Division on January 29, 2018 approved in principle the draft of the 17th amendment to the constitution with the provision which provides for the extension of the tenure of women MPs (reserved seat) by another 25 years. This has been decided as the tenure of women MPs (reserved seat) in the parliament will end on January 24, 2019.
In Bangladesh, at the national level in Parliament, parties prepare the lists of women candidates for reserved seats before the election in order of priority, so the first woman on the list will be the first one assigned to a reserved seat if her party earns enough general seats. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), which supports citizens’ right to participate in free and fair elections; produced a paper titled, “Women’s Reserved Seats in Bangladesh: A Systemic Analysis of Meaningful Representation” for the U.S. Agency for International Development. The paper, inert alia; discusses the issues with the current systems of reserved seats at different levels of elected government. This piecemeal will broadly discuss that the systems that are currently in place often ignore the need to ensure that women’s representation is meaningful and effective, and that broader gender equality outcomes are achieved despite that political party committee quota are instrumental to having an acceptable level of elected female representatives in Bangladesh. We need to think and identify justifications for continuing these reserved seats for women in Parliament for next 20-25 years without taking measures to ensure women’s meaningful representation in parliament of Bangladesh.
The paper by IFES identifies that since the reserved seats in Parliament are not elected and are instead de facto selected, party leadership has the sole discretion to decide who should be placed on the list and in what order. The selection process is not necessarily merit-based, resulting in potentially under-qualified and unprepared representatives, which further erode the public’s trust in their female representatives. The issue is not so much the lack of qualifications in terms of education or professional experience; rather, reserved seat holders often lack political credentials and gravitas. The process is also susceptible to corruption and other undue influence by politically connected family members. Women who have been party workers for a long time are often ignored, and women who have no record of accomplishment with a party, but do have kinship or other relationship ties with party leaders, may be placed at the top of the list. This type of favouritism is demoralizing for both potential candidates and the general public. Civil society organization Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN) estimates that one-fourth of candidates for women’s reserved seats in 2014 were nominated based on nepotism. Since there are no set criteria for nominating women for reserved seats on the national level, parties can nominate candidates without considering geographical representation. Parties can – and often do – nominate elite women from predominantly urban areas; thus, there are very few female representatives from rural areas and/or diverse socio-economic backgrounds. In a survey by Democracywatch in 2003, 78 percent of respondents were in favor of direct election of women’s reserved seats in Parliament through the creation of “special constituencies.”
The current systems of reserved seats at different levels of elected government and a political party committee quota are instrumental to having an acceptable level of elected female representatives in Bangladesh. However, the systems that are currently in place often ignore the need to ensure that women’s representation is meaningful and effective, and that broader gender equality outcomes are achieved. IFES paper concludes that this is not an easy task, and despite a combination of efforts, it may take decades to reach this goal, given the significant cultural, socio-economic and religious barriers to women’s electoral participation and representation.
Reforming the entire electoral system to address women’s meaningful representation in Parliament is very essential. We must understand that it’s not about the number of seats or the tenure. Our focus should be on ensuring women’s effective hold on parliamentary issues and a bold representation by them.
The writer is an Advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court