Samina Luthfa, associate professor of sociology at Dhaka University, has sharply criticized the government and political parties for what she described as “fish market bargaining” over women’s reserved seats in the National Parliament. Speaking at a roundtable titled “Women’s Seats in the National Parliament and Women’s Political Empowerment,” arranged by Prothom Alo in Dhaka on Saturday (August 9), she said the process was dominated by men, excluded women’s voices, and disregarded key proposals from the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission.
Referring to negotiations that reduced proposed women’s candidacy quotas from 15 percent to just 5 percent, Lutfa said, “This was a boys’ club, men sitting in all four corners deciding the fate of women. We were getting updates hour by hour, as if it were a fish market. They said, ‘If you want 15, we can give you 10,’ and eventually it dropped to five. This is the historical failure of Bangladesh’s political parties to give women their dignity.”
She condemned the government’s silence during public attacks on members of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission, calling it proof that it stands with those who wish to block women’s progress. “The most irresponsible act a government can commit is to ignore such attacks and dismiss critical proposals on women’s rights. The idea that men will decide how women enter politics is the most absurd project imaginable,” she added.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 