The 13th National Parliamentary Election and Referendum will be held on February 12, with 1,981 candidates contesting across the country’s 300 parliamentary constituencies, according to the Election Commission (EC).
Despite repeated political pledges to boost women’s participation, only 81 women are in the race -- just 4.08% of the total.
The figure has drawn criticism from women’s rights activists, particularly in light of commitments made under the July Charter, which incorporated recommendations of the National Consensus Commission.
Under the charter, political parties agreed to nominate at least 5% women candidates, a proposal initially put forward by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The National Citizen Party (NCP) had proposed a higher 10% quota, while the long-term goal is to raise women’s representation to 33%.
Activists say political parties have failed to meet even the minimum commitment at the first opportunity.
According to the EC Secretariat, 3,417 aspirants initially collected nomination papers, and 2,580 submitted nominations.
After scrutiny and appeal hearings, the candidacy of 436 individuals was reinstated.
Later, 305 candidates withdrew, bringing the final tally to 1,981.
Regional distribution
The EC has divided the country’s constituencies into 10 administrative regions. A wide disparity is evident in women’s participation across these regions.
The Dhaka region has the highest number of women candidates, with 23 contesting seats across Dhaka, Gazipur, Manikganj, Munshiganj and Narsingdi districts.
The Comilla region follows with 11 women candidates, while Rajshahi has 10 and Mymensingh nine. The Rangpur region has eight women candidates, and Chittagong has seven.
In Khulna, six women are contesting. The Faridpur region has four women candidates, while Sylhet and Barisal have the lowest representation, with only two women candidates each.
Election officials note that women candidates are concentrated largely in urban and semi-urban constituencies, with significantly lower participation in several rural regions.
Party-wise picture
A total of 51 political parties are participating in the election, but only 20 have nominated women candidates.
A significant number of women are contesting as independents, the single largest category for female contenders.
The BNP has finalized 288 candidates nationwide, of whom 10 are women, representing 3.47%.
The National Citizen Party, contesting its first election, has fielded 30 candidates, including two women (6.25%).
The Bangladesh Socialist Party has nominated 29 candidates, including 10 women, giving it the highest proportion of female candidates at 34.48%.
The Jatiya Party has nominated 192 candidates, six of them women (3.12%).
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, contesting more than 200 seats as part of a 10-party alliance, has not nominated any women candidates.
Among independent candidates, 249 are contesting overall, including 18 women -- 7.22% -- the highest numerical representation of women among all categories.
Women candidates have also been nominated by several smaller parties, including Bangladesh Socialist Party–BASAD, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Insaniyat Biplob Bangladesh, Ganosamhati Andolon, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Gano Forum and others, though most have fielded only one or two women each.
In the 12th National Parliamentary Election, 1,969 candidates contested, including 96 women.
Compared with that election, both the number and proportion of women candidates have declined in the upcoming polls.
Women’s rights groups say the data highlight a persistent gap between political promises and practice, raising concerns about parties’ commitment to meaningful gender inclusion in electoral politics.