The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) last week published a list of 235 prospective candidates for 237 constituencies in the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections. Although the party is yet to reveal the names for the remaining 63 seats, and has stated that the announced nominations may still change, the very act of releasing a list has, to some degree, revived the electoral atmosphere.
This is significant at a time when public discourse has repeatedly veered towards the uncertainty of any democratic transition and the spectre of widespread disorder. The shooting of BNP-nominated candidate and Chattogram city BNP convener Ershad Ullah during a campaign event in the city on Wednesday afternoon is a stark reminder of the risks that may lie ahead.
Yet, when we examine the list, a stark reality emerges: only 10 women (4.22 per cent of 237 candidates) have been nominated to contest 12 constituencies (5.06 per cent of seats). Had BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia not been nominated in three constituencies, that figure would have fallen to just 10 individual women in 10 parliamentary seats in total. In other words, in a country where women constitute half the population, just over 4 per cent have been offered the chance to contest from just 5 per cent of the seats directly.
This outcome is particularly troubling given that the party leadership is clearly aware of the issue. Only four days before the list was released, BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman declared, “We reject any regressive idea that limits women’s potentials.” He spoke in support of increasing female participation in public life. But these words ring hollow when set against the reality of candidate selection.
Similarly, the party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has frequently warned of the growing influence of right-wing tendencies in politics. One of the strongest ways to counter such forces, we think, would be to let competent women take the centre stage of political leadership and decision making process in all aspects of the society. Yet the decision not to nominate more women even at this preliminary stage effectively pre-empts their opportunity to prove themselves, and reinforces the existing system of exclusion.
Yes, this election is critical for the BNP and the country for different reasons. The election is crucial for the country as the forces fallen during the July-August mass uprising last year have been trying hard to claw back its position and power. For the BNP, after 19 years out of office, the party will understandably employ every legitimate strategy to maximise its chances of forming the government. But the party also claims to be the country’s largest political platform. That comes with responsibility: to shape a political culture that expands rights and representation, not shrinks them. There are capable female leaders within the party, many with proven organisational and electoral track records. Their exclusion cannot be justified as a strategic necessity.
The party may argue that it has adhered to the provisions of the July National Charter, signed on 17 October. According to Section 22(B) of the Charter, political parties will nominate at least 5 per cent female candidates for direct voting contest in the immediate next parliamentary elections after signing the Charter; Section 22(C) says, in the following parliamentary elections, the parties will increase the percentage by another five points, that means, 10 per cent of the candidates will have to be females in the 14th parliamentary election. Three parties, namely Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish and Bangladesh Nijam-e-Islam Party, gave “note of dissent” to the provisions.
According to section 22(D) of the July Charter, the percentage of female candidates will gradually be increased by five points in every parliamentary election until the nomination of female candidates reaches 33 per cent. Four of 33 political parties that attended the talks over finalising the contents of the July Charter, at the initiative of the National Consensus Commission, presented “note of dissent” to the proposal. The parties are: Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, National Citizen Party (NCP) and Bangladesh Nijam-e-Islam Party.
Here we must ask: does “going by the book” automatically mean making the right choice? These provisions of the July National Charter were drafted and endorsed almost entirely by men. The seven-member National Consensus Commission contained no women. Of the signatories to the Charter, only one, Tania Rob of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), was female.
Thus, the privileged group, i.e., the males continue to determine how and when those without privilege will receive representation. And so the questions remain: will this approach work? Are those who benefit from the current imbalance willing to surrender any meaningful share of power? How long will it take to ensure equitable representation? The honest answer is that nobody knows.
Until we truly recognise that women, half the population, must stand alongside men, not behind them; until competence replaces tokenism; until representation is treated as a right rather than a concession, any progress we make will remain fragile. And, eventually, it will crumble.