Women’s rights activists across Bangladesh have strongly condemned the National Consensus Commission’s recent decision on reserved parliamentary seats for women, calling it exclusionary, undemocratic, and regressive. After over four months of dialogue, the Commission, composed entirely of men, recommended maintaining only 50 reserved seats for women, with parties “requested” to nominate women in just 5% of general seats in the next election. The Women’s Affairs Reform Commission’s more ambitious proposal of 300 reserved seats and direct elections was entirely ignored.
Outrage deepened as it became evident that most political parties, including major ones like the BNP and Jamaat, participated in discussions without any female representatives. Only a handful of smaller parties such as JSD, NCP, and Gana Sanghati Andolan included women in their negotiating teams. “How can discrimination be addressed when half the population is left out of the conversation?” asked Shirin Parvin Haque, chair of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission.
Bangladesh Mahila Parishad rejected the Commission’s decision outright. President Fawzia Moslem called the outcome “a step backward” and reiterated the demand for 100 reserved seats with direct elections. Activists warned that symbolic inclusion and minimal quotas will not deliver real representation. As educationist and commission member Mahin Sultan put it, “Women were central to the movement. Now they are being sidelined again.” Critics say that unless the political process ensures meaningful inclusion, the promises of post-July reform risk reproducing the same old patriarchal politics.
Source: Ajker Patrika
Published: August 2, 2025
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 