There is currently no woman in the leading posts of 52 sports federations and associations, along with the National Sports Council and Bangladesh Olympic Association, despite ever growing success stories of female athletes over the years.
The presidents of all these sports' governing bodies are male, while there is only one woman among the general secretary or chief executive officer posts.
The executive committees are also distinctly male dominated.
The respective authorities said the inequity will not change without government intervention.
Not enough opportunity
Be it cricket, football, hockey, archery, athletics, swimming, shooting, kabaddi, volleyball, weightlifting, tennis, badminton, handball, golf, gymnastics, basketball, cycling, rugby, boxing, karate, taekwondo, rowing, bodybuilding, chess, bridge, fencing and surfing, everywhere both the president and general secretary (CEO in cricket board) are male.
Only judo has a female general secretary in Kamrun Nahar Hiru, the bronze winner at the 4th Asian Judo Championship in 1981 which she claimed was the first international medal bagged by a Bangladeshi woman.
Hiru, 60, got elected last year.
She told Dhaka Tribune, “Women have to struggle more than their male counterparts. I have been fighting for a long time. I was surprised when I lost 2016 election. I never gave up. I wanted to prove myself.”
When asked why there is no woman in the general secretary post of other federations, she replied, “It happens through election and selection [ad-hoc committee formed by NSC]. Women councilors [voters] are very few in number. This is one of the reasons.
“In many cases, women don't get the opportunity. The family condition may not also be smooth. They face many obstacles in the male-dominated society.”
It is down to Hiru that judo federation has seven female members in their executive committee, which is the highest among other federations and associations where the average percentage of female representatives in the Ex-Co is not more than 10%.
Kamrun Nahar Hiru
Monopoly and controversy
National-award winner and celebrated sportsperson Zobera Rahman Linu, who holds the record of 16 national table tennis titles, complained of being forced out of the general secretary post of table tennis federation.
“Only six months after I became general secretary, a new election was hastily arranged. I never tried again,” said Linu, who now chairs the BOA's athlete commission.
“It's monopoly during the election. Those who are capable sees the exit door. It's like a game. The process is corrupted. The women are always repressed.”
Linu also blamed cycling federation for omitting her from its vice-president post without showing any proper reason.
Zobera Rahman Linu
The veteran female organizers and former athletes have been fighting hard to establish women's rights in sports for a long time now but couldn't progress, said former cricket and hockey player Parvin Nasima Nahar Putul.
Putul, 66, who was also a cricket coach and handball referee, has been exploring the sports arena since her playing career in the 1970s and is now an active organizer.
She said, “Women's position in society has improved. There are many experienced women who can work as general secretary but they don't get the chance. It's also same for the list of councilors/voters where qualified women are neglected.”
Parvin Nasima Nahar PutulUrge to change constitution
Former national badminton and table tennis player and renowned sports organizer Quamrun Nahar Dana, 63, informed that according to her knowledge only athletics federation has reserved seats for women in the executive committee but couldn't confirm how many.
It was learned from the results of the last athletics election held in 2019 that there are three women out of 29 in the current committee.
The ratio is more or less same in most of the federations, while there are also some sports organizations without a single female representative.
Dana urged to modify the existing constitution of all the federations.
She said, “There are reserved seats for women in parliament. Same law needs to be applied in every federation because others are not giving women the chance despite having qualification.
“Women's participation in every sport has increased and their results are also impressive. The social barriers also decreased. There should be more women in organizational roles.”
Dana was the first women's wing committee chairman of the football federation in 2003 and actively fought against fundamentalists' stance during the introduction of women's football in the country.
She was also the vice-chairman of the women's committee of the cricket board and three-time general secretary of the women's sports association.
“If there are more female officials and organizers, it gives confidence to the female athletes. The guardians also feel relaxed. A lot of women want to be coach, referee or organizer after retirement but they get little opportunity. The authorities don't utilize the ex-female players,” said Dana, who won the national sports award as player and organizer in 1999.
“We talk about women's rights, but it does not exist in sports. There should be at least 33% female representation in every federation. The constitution should be changed, it should be in tune with modern times. The ministry and NSC have to come forward for this.”
Quamrun Nahar DanaHiru, Linu and Putul all agreed that ministry and NSC should intervene in order to alter the disparity between men and women in sports.
Women's Sports Association president Mahabub Ara Begum Gini refrained from making any comment while several phone calls to general secretary Firoza Karim Nely went unanswered.
Authorities unaware
With the exception of the cricket board and football federation, the president of almost all other federations and associations is selected by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Zahid Ahsan Russel, the Youth and Sports minister and also the chairman of NSC, couldn't be reached over phone despite repeated attempts.
There was also no reply to the text message sent to his contact number.
Dr Mahiuddin Ahmed, the secretary of Youth and Sports Ministry, informed that he is unaware of the process of selecting the candidate for president and general secretary post, saying, “My opinion is that there should be female representatives. I don't know why it does not exist here. I don't know the process. I don't know if it happened because there were no eligible persons. I can't say why it (female representation) is not there.”
