Dhaka:Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad has raised questions over the continued necessity of reserved seats for women in parliament, suggesting that qualified women are now capable of winning elections directly.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Speaker Ahmad expressed his personal opinion that the system of reserved seats should be abolished. He made these remarks during the launch of an all-party parliamentary caucus for disadvantaged communities at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the Capital.
The parliamentary caucus has been established to promote the rights and interests of disadvantaged communities, with the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, serving as its secretariat. Speaker Ahmad highlighted the emergence of numerous qualified women leaders across the country who are capable of contesting elections independently and potentially defeating male candidates.
He proposed that political parties might be mandated to nominate women for one-third of their constituencies to ensure increased female participation in electoral politics. The reserved-seat system, initially introduced to address the political underrepresentation of women, was expected to become redundant as women’s political status improved. However, the number of reserved seats has increased to 50 over the years instead of being phased out.
Speaker Ahmad argued that if the current system persists, women may never become self-reliant or stand independently, emphasizing that they should be encouraged to directly compete in elections. He also commended the performance of women lawmakers in the current parliament, noting their impressive speeches and contributions to parliamentary proceedings.
The event was chaired by Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, MP. Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni and Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, convener of the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, also spoke at the event.