Concerning the Legislative Amendments towards Empowerment of Women by by Afroza Begum

Concerning the Legislative Amendments towards Empowerment of Women

This is a matter of great concern and regret that, without taking the demands and opinions of all of the Women's, Social, Political, Professional and Human Rights Organizations, into consideration, the Government introduced the bill today the 17th March, 2004 in the Parliament to move into motion under the 14th Amendment Bill, introducing 45 reserved seats for Women in the parliament, to be effective for a period of 10 years from the date of adoption of the bill in the parliament as an amendment to the legislation for adoption. The Speaker however, as normal practice have sent the bill for examination to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Law and Parliamentary affairs, as usual but it is however been apprehended since the ruling Government Alliance holds more than two-third seats in the Parliament, the bill may very likely get adopted as legislation to be effective as a matter of routine within a very few days without facing any substantial debate and discussion, in the Parliament.

This may be recalled, on 8th March, 2004 on the eve of the International Women's day, the Four party Alliance Government of Bangladesh, adopted a resolution in the cabinet of the ministers to agree in principle, to move a bill in the current session of the Parliament, bringing 14th amendment of the constitution, introducing 45 reserved seats for Women in the parliament, to be effective for a period of 10 years from the date of adoption of the bill in the parliament as an amendment to the legislation.

The form and content of the proposal of the amendment met immediately with adverse reaction from the Women's Organizations of the country because it was totally in contradiction to the concept and perception on which the nation as a whole was discussing during the last decade. Statements, rallies, demonstrations became a daily affair. Criticism widely mounted in the press and public meetings held across the country and those became a growing concern of affairs since 8th march, 2004. But, ignoring all those criticisms and protests, the Government without taking any heed to those voices to be heard, moved ahead with the approval of the draft bill in the cabinet to be moved in the Parliament. And then today Government introduced the bill in the Parliament as an amendment to the legislation for adoption.

The situation outside the Parliament however is totally different. The movement taking turn to demonstrations of condemnation protests taking the shape of token hunger strikes and which may take further stern turns unabated.

The protests, demands and criticisms on the ground against the proposed amendment are directed on three particular aspects. Clarity and unambiguity of those justifications firmly demands re- consideration of the amendment by the government parties:

1) Firstly, regarding the proposed number of reserved seats. The government did never come up to give any explanation to the citizens of the country, why they thought the number 45 to be appropriate. While the relevance of the number needed a clarification, the women's organizations political parties, social and human rights organizations demanded to make the number looking relevant to be proportional to the existing numbers of electoral constituencies, or to be proportionate to the administration units. But the number chosen by the government appears extremely arbitrary in nature, evidently that is the reason why the government could not present any credible relevance in choosing this number. Therefore, it is expected that the Government must choose a number which embodies a figure proportionate to electoral constituency or administrative units of the country, and in line with the nationally and internationally accepted proportion of women's representation in local government and legislative bodies, which is nearly one-third, particularly on the backdrop of the socio-economic perspectives where empowerment of women has been identified as an important paradigm and effective policy in formulation of policies and strategies for democratic and economic development of Bangladesh.

2) Secondly, it is known by every conscious person with understanding of however little sense of parliamentary democracy or democracy at all, that the inner meaning of public representation is public accountability. To establish public accountability, it is imperative and necessary to define the constituent area of the population whom the public representatives are representing and unto whom they are accountable. In the proposed amendment no such constituency have been defined, on the other hand, it is proposed that the number of reserved seats shall be allocated to the political parties proportionate to their number strength in the existing parliament of 300 seats, and then those political parties out of their own choosing shall nominate their women members of the parliament to assume the reserved seats according to numbers they become entitled to nominate in proportion, so determined. This process clearly means that the women members in the reserved seats of the parliament will remain accountable to the respective political parties in which they belong and not the people. This system totally contradicts to the concept of public accountability embedded in the basic principles of democratic rights defined in the constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, where the inevitability of the public accountability of the people's representative is clearly perceived as the fundamental principles of the constitution.

3) Thirdly, the system of nomination kept in the introduced amendment unto the existing male dominant parliament with partisan divides can never be meaningful at all to serve the cause of empowerment of women mass living across the country. The failure of the system of nomination which existed in the previous few parliaments have been found through real and practical experience for long already to have been ineffective towards the basic cause of the empowerment of women; in favour which the nation as a whole has reflected unequivocal consensus of public opinion. All the political parties, socio-cultural professional and human rights organizations with nobody left out including the major ruling parties constituting the present government, have voiced their commitment in favour of empowerment of women for the cause of socio-political and economic development of the country touching all the spheres of the society from rural to urban population. Therefore, to ensure the grassroots representation of oppressed women free from elite contacts of the government and the political parties, direct election of women's representation in the parliament had become the national demand in consensus for more than a decade now. Therefore, the demand of direct election advanced towards the cause of empowerment of women in the wider perspective needs serious consideration by the government.

Through the united campaign lodged by all of the women's organizations, side by side with the opinion voiced by all the political parties, social, professional and human rights organizations, it is now more than clear that there is absolutely a national consensus for bringing a meaningful amendment in the constitution for the cause of empowerment of women: with fully ensuring clearly defined adequate number of member for the women's reserved seats in the parliament, identifying unambiguously the issue of public accountability through establishment of people's constituencies and free from elite contacts representing grassroots women hence elected through direct adult franchise.

BNP, led by Begum Khaleda Zia, in last election manifesto, extended clear commitment in favour of 64 reserved seats for women to be elected through direct election, and if the government now deviates from the commitment already made during the election allowing to doubt that such pledge had been made at the time of election to attract women's votes as gimmick only and further allowing to let it be termed as a serious breach to the election pledge made to the people violating of the principles of public accountability; the principles which are an essential component of the country constitutionally committed towards democratic development, then it will be definitely another disaster to the hopes and aspiration of the people to look ahead for a democratically strong Bangladesh, for which the ruling party BNP may have to take the blame of the major share of the responsibility, in the view of the people.

Therefore, in conclusion, it is re-iterated if the BNP led government shall not now listen to the voices raised on the streets and the press, but go ahead adamantly with proposed amendment placed by the Government in the present form and contents, then it will not be an overstatement to point out the fact that this issue is going to erode the electoral support of BNP very dearly which BNP claims to be still holding at needed to stay in power. There is still time to give a second thought in the Parliamentary Standing Committee, and it is expected that the lawmakers belonging to the ruling parties shall take up this issue to introduce necessary reformations giving due respect to the items of public consensus particularly touching those in which overwhelm expressions are already available on this issue, before placing it to vote for adoption.

Afroza Begum

Dhaka, March 17, 2004


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