Bangladesh stands at a crossroads, and its interim leadership under microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus is faltering on a key front: securing women’s political participation. A Thursday report exposes how this government has neglected institutional safeguards, allowing entrenched barriers to persist.
Reform rhetoric aside, concrete interventions are absent, leaving women vulnerable to exclusion by party structures. As nomination deadlines passed, the numbers tell a grim tale—barely 4% women candidates in general seats, sparing two areas. Zero female hopefuls from 30 registered parties underscore the void.
The issue transcends candidate scarcity; it’s deliberate marginalization. Women excel in administrative and welfare spheres yet are kept from electoral battlegrounds. Drawing from Prathom Alo and The Daily Star, the report critiques the ignored 5% nomination guideline from the consensus body. BNP scraped 3.5%; extremists like Jamaat skipped entirely. Tentative inclusions by minor parties vanished upon withdrawal.
Voices from former officials and activists decry the betrayal of promises, highlighting chronic low female turnout in elections despite historical pushes. This moment tests Yunus’s legacy—will his administration step up before February 12 polls, or cement women’s sidelining in Bangladesh’s political fabric? The clock ticks amid rising calls for accountability.