As of now seven women candidates have been elected to Bangladesh’s parliament. This is out of the 78 women who contested in the polls among 1,981 candidates.
While
Bangladesh awaits the official results of its 13th National election, unofficial results are pouring in with the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party crossing the majority mark. As per the current counts, seven women candidates have been elected to parliament.
This is out of the
78 women who contested in the polls among 1,981 candidates. Interestingly, 6 out of 7 women elected to the parliament are from the BNP and the one independent candidate used to be a prominent politician of the same party.
It also becomes important to point out that at least 30 Bangladeshi parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Islami Front, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Jonotar Dal, Bangladesh Sangskritik Mukti Jote, Bangladesh Congress, Jatiya Party (JP), Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Bangladesh Nationalist Front and Bangladesh Jasad, did not field any female candidates.
When asked why Jamaat did not nominate any women, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said the party follows a grassroots-based selection process. He noted that while men are guided by the party’s instructions, women are given the freedom to decide whether to contest.
“We haven’t fielded [women candidates] this time; Inshallah, we’ll do it the next time,” he said, adding that some of the other parties in the Jamaat-led alliance have nominated women. The women of the party went ahead in defending the move, insisting that Jamaat operates on “Islamic principles”.
“According to the Quran, men are directors of women, which is considered a command and obligation in Islam,” Jamaat-e-Islami Women’s Wing Secretary Nurunnisa Siddika said earlier this week. Siddika described it as an “internal organisational decision.”
7 women set to be in the Bangladesh parliament
The seven female candidates who have won their seats in the Bangladeshi parliament are as follows:
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Afroza Khan Rita from Manikganj-3
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Israt Sultana Elen Bhutto from Jhalokati-2
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Tahsina Rushdir Luna from Sylhet-2
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Shama Obaid from Faridpur-2
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Nayab Yusuf Kamal from Faridpur-3
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Farzana Sharmin Putul from Natore-1
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Barrister Rumin Farhana has been elected as an independent candidate from Brahmanbaria-2. She had previously been expelled from the BNP.
It is pertinent to note that the results are based on unofficial tallies shared by Bangladesh’s major news outlets that were announced after the conclusion of voting and counting across the country.
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