Women played a crucial role in the student-led July uprising, which led to the ousting of the country’s longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Now, in its aftermath, a new Bangladesh is emerging where the students who played pivotal roles in the movement are forming a new political party, called the Jatiya Nagorik Party, aimed at leading the country through the upcoming general election.
Although the July uprising was a mass movement that transcended gender or class, a critical question has now arisen: where do women stand in this new political party?
Nahid to lead party
The name of the new political party is set to be Jatiya Nagorik Party, according to media reports, and it will officially debut on Friday.
Former adviser Md Nahid Islam will be its convener, while Akhtar Hossain has been appointed as member secretary.
Additionally, Nasiruddin Patwari will be chief coordinator, Hasnat Abdullah the chief organizer for the southern region and Sarjis Alam the chief organizer for the northern region.
So far no women have been confirmed in the top leadership of the new party.
No official decision has been disclosed yet, and all attention is now on Manik Mia Avenue, where the finalized leadership will be officially announced.
Women’s expectations
Leaders of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee and the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement have said both organizations currently have significant female representation in their structures.
They expect that when the new party is officially formed, more women leaders will take on major roles.
Meanwhile, many activists who actively participated in the movement are expecting stronger female leadership at the top levels of the new party. They believe if the student-led party fails to ensure proper women’s representation, it will lose its inclusivity.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Sarwar Tusher, joint convener of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, said: "Women make up 23% of the central members of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, and when the new party is formed, they will also hold key positions.
“While specific names cannot be mentioned yet, many women who were active in the movement and provided leadership will be in top positions."
Umama Fatema, spokesperson for the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said: "We have ensured that women will be included based on their qualifications. If female representation is merely symbolic, true equality cannot be achieved. During the July uprising, we did not join the movement as men or women – we took to the streets as citizens.
“Instead of token representation, political parties should accommodate all individuals as stakeholders. As women’s representation is treated as a mere formality, their presence in leadership has diminished," said Umama, who has long been active in student politics under the banner of the Bangladesh Chhatra Federation.
When asked about the issue, Samantha Sharmin, spokesperson for the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, said women had played a pivotal role in the mass uprising.
However, when it came to structuring an organization that ensured female representation, there was still a lot of work to be done, she added.
Samantha stressed the importance of genuine female leadership rather than tokenism.
"There is no room for token representation. Only those who are qualified and have actively contributed to the organization should be placed in leadership positions. If tokenism is used, it could backfire and ultimately harm women in the long run," she added.
Samantha also addressed concerns about why women in post-uprising organizations were often given the role of "spokesperson" – which appears to be a symbolic title rather than a position with decision-making power.
"A spokesperson’s role does not necessarily grant decision-making authority. That is why people perceive it as a mere presentational position. However, any role can be significant, depending on the individual holding it.
“Still, when this pattern is repeated across multiple organizations, it raises concerns. If the positions assigned to women lack real influence, how can they participate in decision-making? It would be disappointing if women were only given such roles for the sake of an appearance of inclusivity," she continued.
However, Samantha further clarified that in the new political party, individuals would not be chosen based on gender, ethnicity or group identity, but rather on their qualifications and contributions.
Meanwhile, Nazifa Jannat, a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at East West University, who led private university students during the movement in Rampura, expressed concerns about reports suggesting that all 10 top leaders of the new political party would be men.
"If that turns out to be true, it will be nothing more than a boys’ club… The political history of Bangladesh has always been male-dominated. If this continues even after the July mass uprising, I would be very disappointed," she said.
Mentioning that over 50% of Bangladesh’s population was female, Nazifa said if the new party claimed to promote inclusivity but failed to ensure proper representation, it would contradict its own principles.
Female voters would eventually question their commitment to equality, she stressed.
In that case, the party would lose the support of women like her who had played crucial roles in the movement and who were concerned about the representation of women in national politics, said Nazifa.
"After the mass uprising, we had high hopes that Bangladesh would enter a new era of fairness and inclusivity. But so far, the reality has not matched our expectations."