Why women's representation in national poll set to be low 

As Bangladesh moves towards its 13th national parliamentary election, the issue of women's political representation has once again come into sharp focus. Despite repeating promises by political parties to increase women's participation in direct electoral contests, the nomination lists released ahead of the election reveal that women continue to be vastly underrepresented among candidates for general seats. This pattern raises fundamental questions about the role political parties play in shaping democratic inclusion and whether the symbolic rhetoric surrounding gender equality is being matched by substantive action. The composition of nomination lists from major political parties such as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jatiya Party, National Citizen Party (NCP) and others provides an illuminating snapshot of the current state of women's electoral inclusion and the deeper challenges that persist.

The most striking feature of the data on nominations for the 13th national election is the persistently low number of women candidates. According to official figures from the Election Commission, women make up a tiny fraction of those contesting general seats: only 65 women out of 1,842 validly nominated candidates, amounting to just 3.53 per cent of the total list. This percentage is far below even modest thresholds proposed in some political discussions, which suggested that parties should nominate at least 5 per cent women candidates across constituencies. In many ways, the lack of women nominees underscores the structural barriers that women face within party nomination processes in Bangladesh.

Comparing these figures to previous elections offers sobering context. While the number of women candidates has increased slightly in nominal terms compared to earlier contests - for example, 96 women contested in the 12th election - there has not been a meaningful shift in proportional representation. The persistence of this imbalance highlights that without deliberate institutional reforms and cultural shifts within parties, women's marginalisation in general electoral contests is likely to continue.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one of the country's two dominant political actors and a key contender in the 13th national election, has faced renewed scrutiny over its approach to women's nominations, particularly following the passing of its long-time chairperson, Khaleda Zia. In the current election cycle, the BNP has nominated ten women candidates across 237 constituencies, placing it marginally ahead of several rival parties in absolute numbers, yet still reflecting a striking underrepresentation when viewed proportionally.

With Khaleda Zia no longer in the electoral arena, the party's limited commitment to women's political inclusion has become more visible. Even by its own previously stated benchmark of nominating at least five per cent women candidates, the BNP's slate falls short of signalling any meaningful shift in nomination practices. Women candidates remain peripheral to the party's overall electoral strategy, rather than integral to it.

Critics further point out that several nominated women come from politically influential families, reinforcing concerns that access to party tickets continues to be shaped by elite connections rather than systematic efforts to cultivate women's leadership from grassroots and mid-level party structures. While these candidates may possess experience and public recognition, their profiles raise questions about whether the party is broadening women's participation or merely reproducing existing power hierarchies.

The National Citizen Party (NCP), by contrast, stands out among smaller parties for its comparatively higher proportion of women nominees. According to Election Commission data, the NCP nominated three women out of its total 47 candidates, giving it an approximate women nomination rate of over 6 per cent, higher than several larger parties. This suggests that smaller parties, while less influential electorally, may at times offer more open spaces for women to contest, potentially because they have less entrenched hierarchies or because they aim to distinguish themselves with a more inclusive image.

Left-leaning and progressive parties also demonstrate interesting patterns. Parties such as the Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist) nominated a notable number of women candidates - collectively up to ten across allied formations - while Insaniyat Biplob Bangladesh and the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) each fielded six women candidates. These figures, while numerically modest, indicate that within the constellation of smaller political entities, there is greater variation in the willingness to field women candidates. That said, their overall electoral reach and visibility remain limited, and so the broader impact of these nominations on parliamentary representation may be minimal.

A striking feature of the data is that several parties, including controversial or conservative religious parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Andolon Bangladesh, did not nominate a single woman candidate. This absence highlights how ideological orientations and organisational cultures influence nomination practices, often to the detriment of women's political inclusion. For parties that have significant followings in certain regions, such patterns risk alienating female voters and reinforcing gendered barriers to political participation.

An interesting trend in this election cycle is the relatively high proportion of women candidates running as independents. According to recent reports, among the over 100 women who initially filed nomination papers, independent aspirants accounted for more than one-third of the total. Many of these women opted to contest outside party structures after failing to secure nominations from mainstream parties, revealing both their determination to participate and the limitations of party nomination systems.

The phenomenon of women's underrepresentation in general seats is not unique to Bangladesh, but it is stark given the country's legacy of women occupying high political office. Reserved seats for women in the Jatiya Sangsad ensure a minimum presence of female legislators, yet these positions are filled internally by party lists rather than through direct elections, thereby limiting women's direct accountability to voters and obscuring broader issues of representation. The low percentage of directly elected female nominees therefore reflects deeper organisational inertia and cultural bias within parties.

The nomination practices observed in the 13th national election signal that women's inclusion in Bangladesh's electoral politics remains limited and uneven. While some progress has been made in expanding the number of women willing to contest, particularly as independents or through smaller parties, the major party nomination lists remain overwhelmingly male. The BNP's relatively higher number of nominations and the NCP's higher proportional share offer some points of interest, yet overall rates of female nomination - barely above three or four per cent of all candidates - fall far short of genuine gender parity.