Recommendation for ensuring equal inheritance rights for women

The Women’s Affairs Reform Commission has recommended issuing an ordinance to ensure equal rights for women of all religions in matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, and maintenance, through enacting a uniform family law.

The commission has suggested that, at the very least, steps should be taken to draft the law now and implement it on an optional basis for all communities.

To increase women’s representation through direct elections, the commission also recommended expanding the number of parliamentary seats to 600 and reserving 300 of those for women, to be filled through direct elections.

The Women’s Affairs Reform Commission submitted a report containing these and other detailed recommendations to Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government, at the state guest house Jamuna on Saturday afternoon.

Following the submission, the head of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission and other members presented the report in detail at a press conference held at the Foreign Service Academy on Sunday afternoon.

The report, titled “Identifying steps to eliminate discrimination against women in all spheres and at all levels and achieve equality between women and men”, includes recommendations such as establishing a permanent women’s affairs commission, preventing and redressing violence and harassment against women, recognising forced sexual intercourse within marriage as rape in criminal law, reforming existing rape laws to ensure justice for male and female victims, banning the use of misogynistic language and imagery in public communication, and launching social awareness programmes to promote respectful, dignified, and sensitive attitudes toward women.

Other key recommendations include abolishing the death penalty, decriminalising sex work, amending labour laws to ensure the dignity and rights of sex workers, withdrawing reservations on two articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and ratifying Articles 189 and 190 of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The report also includes 433 specific recommendations, among them providing six-month paid maternity leave in all institutions, including government agencies, offering paid paternity leave, and establishing childcare centres in workplaces.

The Cabinet Division issued a notification on 18 November last year announcing the formation of the 10-member Women’s Affairs Reform Commission. The commission is chaired by Shirin Parvin Haque, a founding member of Naripokkho.

Other members include Mahin Sultan, senior fellow at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development; Fauzia Karim Firoze, senior Supreme Court lawyer; Kalpana Akhter, president of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation; Halida Hanum Akhter, women’s health expert; Sumaiya Islam, executive director of the Bangladesh Nari Sramik Kendra; Nirupa Dewan, former member of the National Human Rights Commission; Kamrun Nahar, director of Naripokkho; Ferdousi Sultana, senior social development advisor at the Asian Development Bank; and student representative Nishita Zaman Niha.

All members except Fauzia Karim Firoze, who is currently abroad, were present at the press conference. The event began with tributes to several late women leaders and those who died during the July uprising.

According to the report, the commission held a total of 43 meetings, including 39 consultation sessions with women’s rights organisations, development bodies, labour groups, ethnic minority communities in both hills and plains, and other marginalised communities. Additionally, 9 meetings were held with other reform commissions. These consultations took place in Chattogram, Rangamati, Khulna, Sreemangal, Rangpur, and Mymensingh.

The commission’s recommendations were structured in three categories: actions to be taken during the tenure of the interim government, during the term of the next elected government, and those reflecting the long-term aspirations of the women’s movement.

The Women’s Affairs Reform Commission has proposed increasing the total number of seats in the National Parliament to 600, with 300 of those seats reserved for women. Alongside this, the commission has recommended the formulation of a uniform family law and the establishment of a permanent, independent Women’s Affairs Commission during the tenure of the interim government.

Regarding women’s representation, the commission proposes that an equal number of women representatives enter parliament through direct elections. Each of the 300 constituencies would have two seats—one general seat and one directly elected reserved seat for women. Elections for both seats would be conducted through direct voting.

In the proposed upper house of the Jatiya Sangsad, political parties would nominate candidates for 50 per cent of the seats using a zipper system, alternating between male and female candidates, to ensure gender parity.

It has also been recommended that 50 per cent of the seats in the upper house be allocated to various social groups. As part of this, the Women’s Commission has submitted a supplementary proposal to reserve at least five seats for representatives from women’s organisations.

Another key recommendation is to include a “no” vote option on the ballot during national elections, allowing voters to express no confidence in the political parties contesting.

Responding to a question at the press conference, Commission Chair Shirin Parvin Haque said, “Three hundred seats in the National Parliament are not sufficient given the population of the country. Six hundred seats are not excessive in proportion. Although there has been criticism, we don’t find the idea of 600 seats ‘unusual’. We want this issue to spark discussion and debate. Let opposing arguments be heard. But if we truly want women to be meaningfully represented in Parliament, this recommendation must be accepted. It will help pave the way for healthy politics.”

Commission member Mahin Sultan added, “We want to encourage people to think seriously about increasing the number of reserved seats. For women entering politics, it’s a professional path. There must be a permanent structure that supports their participation—because they will be elected representatives. This issue deserves a thorough national discussion.”

The report also emphasised the need to enforce the existing provision under the Representation of the People Order (RPO), which requires political parties to include women in 33 per cent of all committee positions at every level. Additionally, it recommended amending the RPO to bar any leader from holding the same party position for more than two terms—aiming to facilitate leadership renewal and development within political parties.

In addition to recommending the issuance of an ordinance to ensure equal rights for women of all religions in matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, and maintenance through a Uniform Family Law, the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission has proposed that the law initially be made optional for all communities.

When asked whether keeping the law optional would undermine its effectiveness, Commission member Kamrun Nahar said, “We have exchanged views with many people on the Uniform Family Law."

Commission Chair Shirin Parvin Haque added, “There needs to be a civil option regarding the Uniform Family Law. We cannot eliminate the existing personal laws overnight.”

She further stated that political parties often refrain from bold reform due to their political interests, but the current interim government has no such constraints, making it uniquely positioned to implement the commission’s recommendations.

“There has been a mass uprising to eliminate discrimination,” she said. “Our goal should be to eliminate discrimination and build a non-communal Bangladesh.”

The commission’s report recommends ensuring 50 per cent of participation of women in every level of the media, in accordance with the National Broadcast Policy 2014. It also calls for ending the negative representation of women across all types of media. The report strongly recommends that women should not be used as sexual objects in media participation, and urges a stop to misogynistic statements that unnecessarily mention or target women.

The commission further recommends decentralisation and local-level development as a means to establish women’s interests and rights. It highlights the need for creating a violence-free society for women and girls, ensuring women’s participation in public administration, and enhancing access to education, technology, and skill development to support women’s advancement.

Good health for women of all ages, fair participation in the labour force, and ensuring women’s property rights have also been stressed.

The report underscores the importance of ensuring the safety of women migrant workers, providing sustainable social security measures to reduce poverty, and supporting the inclusion and development of women in sports and culture.

In addition, it emphasises the protection of the lives and assets of women who are at risk due to disasters and the impacts of climate change.