Reform advocates and political leaders on Sunday called for substantial increases in women's parliamentary representation through direct elections rather than the current reserved seat system.
They made their arguments at a seminar arranged by the platform Nagorik Coalition in the conference room of The Daily Star in Dhaka.
The discussions centered on proposals ranging from immediate implementation of 100 directly-elected women's seats to a gradual transition toward 50% gender parity in parliament.
Noted activists, political party leaders, and heads of several reform commissions were present at the seminar.
Nagorik Coalition proposals
The platform presented several proposals, including visible steps to ensure women's own electoral areas and constituencies and women being directly elected to 100 seats using a 3:1 method for 2026.
Samina Luthfa, associate professor of sociology at the University of Dhaka, presented these demands and read out their written statement.
The platform said the formation process for these 100 seats can follow the Constitutional Reform Commission's proposal.
In the subsequent two elections, this ratio should be gradually changed to ensure 50% women's representation of the total parliamentary seats, it added.
At the same time, the platform demanded that political parties nominate at least 25% female candidates for general seats, which should gradually increase to 50%.
The platform also demanded that in 2026, every political party must have 30% women's representation in their candidate nominations, according to the Election Reform Commission's recommendation.
"This should be progressively increased to 40% and 50% in the two following elections,” says their written statement.
“By restructuring electoral areas or reorganizing responsibilities and scope of work, and following the Women's Reform Commission's recommendations for population-based representation, parliamentary seats could be gradually increased from 400 to better serve Bangladesh's vast population."
The platform further demanded that the upper house should initially have 30% representation, which should be progressively increased to 50%.
"According to the Women's Commission's proposal, equal numbers of women and men from each party will be nominated using a zipper system.”
It added: “The Women's Commission's report also contains guidance on representation of various groups, which can be implemented immediately."
Reform commission heads and distinguished persons’ arguments
Badiul Alam Majumdar, head of the Election Reform Commission, pointed out the problems with party nominations, while also explaining how the situation is different now.
"If 100 seats are added, by the same calculation, women will become objects of pity and there will be various serious nomination trading," he said.
He added that the situation is different because a major party, referring to the Awami League, is not in the field now.
According to him, if the party were in the field, restating that he is not giving any statements on whether it will be or not be in the next election, then the big parties would nominate women in places where their chances of winning are low.
"For instance, the BNP might nominate in Gopalganj, or if the Awami League were there - I am not saying they are or are not or will not be. Not only that, but since there is currently one major party, the biggest party will try to prevent this completely," he said.
He said he expects that women leaders will emerge across the country, and through this, the need for this reservation system will eventually end.
Shireen Parveen Haque, head of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission, argued for increasing parliamentary representation based on population growth, noting that when 300 seats were established, the population was significantly smaller than today.
She said: “Representation must be increased, simple - whether women or men, representation must be increased, and therefore we are saying increasing the number of seats in parliament is a demand of the times."
Her commission's proposal maintains 300 constituencies but suggests each area would have one general seat and another reserved seat for women.
They reference constitutional provisions for temporary special benefits, describing women not as a backwards community but as a community that has been held back.
Shireen also emphasized direct voting, saying: "Candidates will be elected to both seats through direct voting. Therefore, I think no one here is talking about indirect voting or selection. Everyone is talking about direct voting."
Acknowledging deep-rooted patriarchy, she said: "Our society still has patriarchy embedded in every pore and fiber. Therefore, to acknowledge this, we need to think differently, go beyond this conventional thinking."
Shireen further said: “If we cannot go beyond conventional proposals in 2025, if we cannot utilize this historic opportunity in this post-movement period, then perhaps we will never be able to.”
"Therefore, we have proposed a radical reform beyond conventional proposals, which many may think unrealistic. But when we propose this, it will be discussed, come to the table, and this possibility will emerge before people," she added.
Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, noted economist and distinguished fellow at CPD, pointed out the issue regarding party nominations that is relatively easy to implement, according to him.
"This absolutely needs to be done, and it can be accomplished through amendments to the RPO (Representation of the People Ordinance), and the Election Commission can take measures to make this effective," he said.
He also emphasized the need to clarify what kind of sanctions will be imposed on that party if proper nominations are not given.
"Will the entire party be barred from participation, or will it be limited to specific constituencies? This is a major issue. This is something that is easy to do and must be done," he added.
He also mentioned that whatever number of women gets allocated, they must be elected through direct voting. "Both men and women will vote, and she does not represent only women."
He argued that instead of giving a female representative fragmented representation, she should be given the right to vote on behalf of the entire population as part of complete representation.
"Regardless of which constituency you go to or what seat allocation you base it on, direct voting and universal suffrage - this seems to me to be the second important issue," he added.
Female politicians’ perspectives and implementation challenges
Shama Obaed, organizing secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, supported increasing women's representation, noting that the BNP plans on expanding the number of female candidates, with discussions centering on 100 seats though talks continue.
She also said that meaningful change requires deliberate action, saying: "Every political party needs to have the intention. I want to increase the number of my women MPs. This does not increase automatically."
Shama also acknowledged the practical challenges women face in constituencies, citing muscle power, money, and various systemic barriers.
She argued that solutions must begin within party structures saying: "Every political party first needs to have the intention. They need to have a conscious intention that I need to increase the number of women at my upazila level, district level, and centrally in my committees first."
Tasnim Jara, the NCP's senior joint member secretary, highlighted critical flaws in the current nomination system for women parliamentarians, arguing that nominations in many cases are not based on merit and instead sometimes become commercial, sometimes happen through nepotism.
She emphasized the democratic deficit created by the reserved seat system saying: "Since MPs sit in parliament as public representatives, the public is being deprived of their right to elect MPs. The public has no say there; only the party or the party leader giving nominations has a say."
Tasnim pointed out the accountability gap inherent in the current structure saying "When they come through nominations, they have no specific constituency, so they have no place to work, and there is no accountability to the public either. Because they do not come through public votes and they have no constituency afterwards."
Tajnuva Jabeen, joint convener of the National Citizen Party, highlighted the challenges women face in politics, saying that at the root level, there's a lot of nomination business and competition with muscle power.
She also emphasized that parties must provide financial support and local assistance to women candidates.
Umama Fatema, one of the student leaders from the July uprising that toppled the Awami League regime, said that regardless of specific percentages or seat allocations, the election must happen so that women feel empowered and get the opportunity to connect with the people.
She stressed the importance of achieving representation through voting and believes that reaching consensus will make this journey more pleasant for future women's representation.
