The Women's Affairs Reform Commission will submit its report to Chief Adviser Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus on Saturday afternoon, according to deputy press secretary to the chief adviser, Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder.
Led by Shireen Parveen Haque, the members of the Commission will present the report at 4:30pm at the State Guest House Jamuna.
Following the submission, a press conference will be held at the Foreign Service Academy at 5:15pm to share details of the report.
The report makes a series of recommendations categorized into three phases—immediate, medium-term, and long-term—aimed at establishing women's rights and promoting equality in the family, social, and political spheres.
A key focus of the report is the elimination of all laws that discriminate against women. It highlights long-standing demands of the women's rights movement that remain unmet, such as ensuring equal rights for women of all religions in matters of property, guardianship and custody of children, as well as marriage and divorce, through reforms in family law.
One of the most significant recommendations is to increase the number of seats in the National Parliament to 600, with 300 of them reserved for women.
The commission also proposes that both male and female representatives be elected to political party committees.
Under the Representation of the People Order (RPO), the commission recommends that any political party failing to ensure 33% female representation at all committee levels by 2030 be declared ineligible to participate in elections.
Speaking about the report, Commission Chair Shireen Parveen Haque noted that the immediate recommendations are directed at the interim government, while the medium-term ones are intended for the future elected government.
The long-term recommendations, she said, reflect the deep-rooted hopes and aspirations of the women's movement for rights and empowerment.
Additional recommendations include making six months of maternity leave mandatory for all working women in both government and private sectors, establishing child day-care centers, abolishing special provisions in the Child Marriage Prevention Act that allow the marriage of girls under the age of 18, and withdrawing Bangladesh’s reservations on two articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Although Bangladesh ratified CEDAW in 1984, it has maintained reservations on Articles 2 and 16.1(c).
Article 2 calls for legislative and administrative reforms to eliminate discrimination against women, while Article 16.1(c) guarantees equal rights and responsibilities in marriage and divorce. No government to date has withdrawn these reservations.
The Women's Affairs Reform Commission was formed in November 2024 by the government as one of 11 reform commissions under the interim administration.
Originally expected to submit its report by March 30, the commission was granted additional time.
The government announced the formation of four new reform commissions—on health, media, workers' rights, and women's affairs—on October 17, 2024.
