Women should get 30pc nomination for nat'l polls
Female aspirants from political parties demand at least 30 percent nomination for the 11th parliamentary election – based on honesty, intellectual ability, and their contribution at the grassroots level.
One hundred and fifty female politicians from Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party placed the demand at a conference organised by Democracy International on “Advancing women's leadership in the national election” at a city hotel yesterday.
No woman contested general seats in the country's first ever parliamentary election held in 1973. With time, women's direct participation in election increased by very small margins to 5.3 percent in 2014, according to a press statement issued by the NGO that works to strengthen democracy.
Holding some key political positions is not a reflection of women's empowerment in general, speakers said. It is rather more and significant presence of women across political hierarchies which can help the nation move towards achieving gender equality, they added.
Some of the speakers from both the ruling Awami League and opposition alliances argued that the 50 reserved seats kept for women in parliament facilitated women's participation in politics, but time has come for competing for seats through direct election.
Many issues act as barriers like a lack of party support, limited social and financial support, limited access to political networks and the absence of education and training to encourage female leadership.
Democracy International recommends setting up of party funds to support women candidates and training to be organised by the parties on how to complete nomination forms, conduct election campaigns and submit election expenditure returns.
Many female politicians have been working hard at the grassroots level for decades but they don't get recognised, said Jatiya Party Presidium Member Prof Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury.
Party leaders fear that if they nominate a woman, a competing male candidate would win the constitutional seat.
“This fear prevails in all parties,” said Shahinur Nargis, a central leader of Chhatra Dal.
To ensure representation of half of the population, female aspirants should get 50 percent nomination, said Mahila Awami League General Secretary Mahmuda Begum.
Democracy International suggested legislative candidate quota and voluntary candidate quota to increase women's participation in politics.
Through legislative candidate quota, political parties can be bound to nominate a certain percentage of women as candidates. Otherwise, the state can exercise its power to enforce sanctions to compel political parties to go by the rules.
On the other hand, voluntary party candidate quotas for women are targets set by political parties themselves.
It is not mandated by law but since it comes from within the parties “they are often just as respected as legislated quotas”, said Democracy International in the press statement.
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