Women of Rupsha South Union in Faridganj upazila of Chandpur came to polling stations to vote after 56 years. Locally, these women had previously been prohibited from going to polling centres.
From Thursday morning, large crowds of women were seen at various polling stations in the union. Locals expressed excitement over the turnout.
Ayesha Begum, aged 70, was seen at the front of Gridkalindia High School polling centre around 10:30 am. She had come to vote for the first time. She told Prothom Alo, “This is my first time voting. I feel very happy.”
When asked why she had not voted all these years, Ayesha Begum said, “There was a prohibition. After local people explained, I came to vote.”
Nurjahan Begum, a resident of Rupsha Union, said she has been married for 45 years. She had not voted during that time. When asked why she was voting now, she said, “Everyone says, you women go to the market, work, do everything, so why shouldn’t you be able to vote? Voting is not forbidden in Islam. So what problem is there? Now we have realised that it was a mistake not to vote all these years. That’s why we came to vote.”
On-site, large crowds of women voters were seen at Gridkalindia High School polling centre. Presiding Officer AKM Lokman Hakim told Prothom Alo that the centre has a total of 3,603 voters, of whom 1,811 are men and 1,792 are women. By 9:30 am, 401 votes had been cast, including 159 by women.
The union has a total of 21,695 voters, nearly 10,299 of whom are women. Officials say their participation could have a significant impact on this election.
Locals said that in 1969, women were instructed locally not to go to polling stations. Even though the Election Commission encouraged women to vote over the years, they had not come until now.
Recently, Chandpur district administration held several meetings with local imams and women. These meetings focused on raising awareness among women about their voting rights. The administration also conducted meetings involving the union’s ulema, imams, muezzins, and general public.
Chandpur deputy commissioner (DC) and returning officer Nazmul Islam Government said that voting by women is not a crime in Islam. Fifty-six years ago, women were wrongly deprived of their voting rights due to a misinterpreted temporary local directive, which is no longer acceptable.
There were long queues of women were also seen present. Archana Rani, one of them, said, “I have never voted before. This is my first time voting.”
However, presiding officer Abdus Samad told Prothom Alo that many women, having never voted before, do not know the procedure. Some ask him how to vote, and many do not even know how to stand in line.
This polling centre has a total of 2,616 voters, including 1,270 women. By 10:30 am, more than 1,100 votes had already been cast. Women’s presence at this centre was notable.
At 11:00 am, district superintendent of police (SP) Robiul Hasan arrived at Gridkalindia High School centre. He told Prothom Alo that women had been assured that there would be no problem with purdah (veil) at the polling station. They understood this. He also said that no untoward incidents have occurred in the district so far.