CUCSU election: Only 1 woman among candidates for VP, GS posts in panels

Ten panels have been announced to contest in the Chittagong University Central Students’ Union (CUCSU) elections. Of them, nine panels have not nominated even a single female student for the top two positions, vice-president (VP) and general-secretary (GS). Only one panel has fielded a woman candidate for the GS post.

The panels explained the absence of women contenders for the top posts by citing reasons such as lack of competitiveness, slim chances of victory, and organisational weakness. Female students however argue that the real problem lies in the lack of political outlook and the persistent tendency to sideline women.

The only panel to nominate a female candidate in one of the two top posts is the ‘Swatantra Shikkharythi Jote’, formed by the Student Alliance for Democracy (SAD), the organisation of students who participated in the July uprising, together with the Chhatra Federation.

From this panel, Tasnim Jahan Shraban, a postgraduate student in the Department of Physics, has submitted her nomination to contest for the GS post.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Tasnim Jahan said, “The Chittagong University campus is not safe when it comes to taking part in elections or engaging in politics. Female students regularly face bullying, shaming, and moral policing here. They face these incidents both online and in person. That is why many women do not want to get involved in politics.”

The seventh CUCSU election is scheduled for this 12 October. Of the union’s 28 posts, 26 will be elected. The vice-chancellor (VC) will hold the post of president by virtue of office, while the treasurer post will be filled by a faculty member nominated by the president.

The CUCSU election is being held after a long gap of 35 years. Students say they are surprised that women who had been active at the forefront of various movements are not contesting for top positions. Hopes and expectations have always been high regarding CUCSU.

Had the organisations prioritised female candidates, the election campaigns would have carried a new tone. Instead, the discussion is centred not on the number of women candidates but on their absence. Across the 10 panels, there are only 37 women among total 260 candidates.

Sadia Nasrin, a first-year student in the Department of Human Resource Management, said, “We had thought at least two or three panels would field women in VP or GS positions. In the end, only one panel did and this is disappointing.”

Prothom Alo spoke to leaders of major student organisations regarding the absence of women candidates in the run for top posts.

Mohammad Ali, president of the Chittagong University unit of Chhatra Shibir, said, “We are trying to take women forward. That is why we included two women in secretarial posts. As for the VP and GS positions, we considered those we nominated to be more qualified.”

Alauddin Mohsin, president of the Chhatra Dal, admitted their organisational weakness. He said that the Chhatra Dal had been unable to carry out political activities actively on campus for nearly a decade.

Even after 5 August, they faced obstacles in practising student politics. He added that they had nearly finalised nominating a female candidate for one of the top posts, but it was not possible in the end, he added.

Riju Lakshmi Oborodh, the VP candidate of Droho Parshad the panel jointly announced by Samajtantrik Chhatra Front and the Chhatra Union, also cited organisational weakness as the reason for not being able to nominate women to top posts.

He explained that their organisation is in a weak position, and its current convener, Israt Haque, has recently completed her studies and therefore could not contest.

Mosheraka Aditi Huq, associate professor at the Department of Anthropology in Chittagong University, said women should have been encouraged to contest for the top posts. Speaking to Prothom Alo, she noted that in the past there had been incidents of harassment against women on campus.

Even some members of the administration had made indecent remarks about women. Such actions were aimed at instilling fear among women. For this reason, she said, encouragement was needed to bring women forward to contest the top positions.