The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Only 11 among the 15 political parties that sat with the Election Commission for talks on electoral reforms have agreed to ensure at least 33 percent representation of women in their party committees by 2020, a condition the Commission likes to set for the parties for having registration.

The Election Commission wants the country's political parties to increase representation of women in their committees in a bid to empower women politically.

The 11 parties that have given nod to the EC proposal are Bangladesh Awami League, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB), Samyabadi Dal of Bangladesh (ML), Workers Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Jatiya Party (Ershad), National Awami Party (Nap-Muzaffar), Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Rab), Jatiya Party (JP), Ganotantrik Party and Krishak Sramik Janata League (KSJL). However, Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) directly and Jammat Islam-e-Bangladesh indirectly opposed the proposal. Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) suggested the EC to advance the time to 2015, while Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said that it should be by 2028. Talking to UNB, joint secretary of the Delwar-led faction of BNP Nazrul Islam Khan said it would not be wise to make a condition for this right now. "We want empowerment of women and their equal participation in politics. But, we don't think that any party will accept it if it is made obligatory," he said.

But, secretary general of the reformist faction of BNP Maj (retd) Hafizuddin said they think it should be done gradually. "It should be 20 percent at this moment, which can be increased gradually in the future," he said.

BNP is one of the two major political parties in the country that has only 15 women in its 269-member central committee and only one woman-party chairperson Khaleda Zia-in its 15-member presidium committee.

"We have not yet decided the method how the women representation in party committees will be monitored. Besides, dialogue is still pending with one party (BNP)," Election Commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain told UNB.

Bangladesh Awami League, the other major political party, has only three women in its 12-member presidium committee, while only seven women in its 68-meber central committee.

"It's their (EC) proposal. It's the parties that will take the decision," Jamaat secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid told UNB after their dialogue with the EC on Feb 26. The party already has 52 women in its 251-member central Majlish-e-Shura, the highest policymaking body of the party.

Among the 15 political parties, only IOJ suggested the EC to drop the provision. "There is no women representation in any Islamic party," IOJ secretary general M Abdul Latif Nejami told UNB. After their dialogue with the EC on Feb 25, JSD leader Shirin Akhter said, "We suggested the Commission to advance the time to 2015. By the time, there will be two national elections and we'll be able to do the job. The empowerment of women will be delayed if the pressure is not there."

JSD only has three women in its 101-member central executive committee and one in its 15-member standing committee. LDP told the Commission that the parties should be given until 2028 to fulfill the condition. "It's very difficult to ensure 33 percent representation of woment give us some more time," LDP president Col Oli Ahmed told the EC at its dialogue on Feb 28. There are only 12 women in its current committee of 100-member as the 151-member national executive committee of LDP is still under process, while there are only 10 women in its 51-member district committee.

The BDB central committee is also under process and there is no woman representation in its 9-member presidium committee. And similarly, there is no woman in its 17-member central committee of Samyabadi Dal. Workers Party has got two women in its 40-member central committee, while CPB four in its 35-member central committee, Jatiya Party (Ershad) two in its 31-member presidium committee, and JSD (Rab) one woman in its 171-member central executive committee, and there is no woman in its 10-member standing committee. JP (Manju) has got three women in its 11-member presidium committee while Ganotantrik Party three in its 15-member presidium committee and seven in its 61-member central committee. KSJL chief Quader Siddiqui told UNB that there are 5-6 women in its 101-member party central committee.