DHAKA: Hundreds of women marched through the streets of Dhaka on Monday, carrying flaming torches to demand justice and fair political representation.
The march comes ahead of Bangladesh’s February 12 elections, the first vote since the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government. Women played a key role in the 2024 uprising that paved the way for these elections. Despite their efforts, women remain largely excluded from politics.
Women candidates make up less than four percent of all election hopefuls. Thirty political parties are fielding male-only tickets, effectively sidelining women from decision-making positions.
“Whatever regime is in place, repression of women appears in many different forms,” said protester Priya Ahsan Chowdhury, 31, a Supreme Court lawyer. She joined around 100 women chanting slogans and singing in front of parliament.
The midnight march, which ended in the early hours of Monday, highlighted growing challenges for women in Bangladesh. Rising incendiary rhetoric at religious and political rallies has increasingly targeted women, pushing them out of public life.
“The aspiration of the mass uprising was to build a country based on justice and equality — but women are slowly being erased from the public sphere,” said Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, 38, head of the Tech Global Institute think tank. She added that women’s roles in key political parties have largely been sidelined in this electoral race.
Bangladesh has historically been led by powerful women, including Sheikh Hasina and the late three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia. However, women continue to face systemic barriers to political participation.
The country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, has not fielded any women candidates. Party members argue that society is not ready for women in politics, a claim that protesters strongly challenge.
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Analysts say these developments raise serious concerns about gender equality and women’s rights in Bangladesh, as the nation prepares for a crucial vote that could shape its future political landscape.
