Elections

It is a striking paradox. For more than three decades, Bangladesh has been led by women—an exceptional continuity across the globe. Yet the outcome of the 13th national election tells a different story. Even with women at the top position, women's presence in Parliament has declined significantly day by day.

In the elections of 1991, 1996 and 2001, women's participation was gradually increasing. The 2008 election is often seen as a milestone in terms of women's representation in the National Parliament. That year, 5.9 percent of all candidates were women, and 19 women won in directly contested seats—a record that still stands.

But in the 2026 election—widely regarded as relatively free and competitive after a long period—the share of women candidates fell to 4.08 percent. Out of more than two thousand candidates, only 84 were women. In a 300-seat Parliament, just 7 women were directly elected—the lowest number since 2001.

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As Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala prepare for Assembly elections, two decades of electoral data reveal a clear pattern: more women are entering the fray, but they are not winning in proportion to their participation. In contrast, men’s win percentages have remained relatively steady over the last 20 years.

Let’s look at this state by state.

West Bengal

While Mamata Banerjee, one of India’s most prominent women leaders, has been chief minister since 2011, women’s overall electoral performance in West Bengal has been bad. While more women contested elections, the number of women victors has only declined. They did not win proportionally to the increase in participation.

From 2001 to 2006, women’s victory rate increased. But after 2006, it began to decline steadily. By 2021, only 16.7 per cent of women contesting the election won seats — quite a fall from 24.6 per cent in 2001.

Despite this decline over the past two decades, women in West Bengal have consistently recorded higher winning percentages than men. In 2001, 17 per cent of male candidates won their seats, compared to 24.6 per cent of women candidates. This pattern has largely continued. In 2021, 13.4 per cent of men won, while that figure stood at 16.7 per cent for women.

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Concerns Over Women's Political Representation

Member of the Forum for Women's Political Rights and Research Fellow at Aarshi Trust, Nafisa Raihana, on Sunday, expressed concerns about women's political representation following the 13th national parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. She alleged the existence of systemic barriers to women's participation in political parties. Speaking to ANI after the results were announced, Raihana said many women were unable to secure party nominations despite being politically active. "Many women could not get nominated this time, and many of the male members of their political parties did not or could not give their nomination. We met various women politicians, and all said that they are active, but it is difficult for them to reach a higher level or even talk to a higher authority," she told ANI...

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On the morning of February 9, a large crowd gathered near the Mirpur-1 Eidgah field.

The air was filled with commotion and the festive rhythm of a band party. Rickshaws and cars came to a halt, and pedestrians stopped to watch.

Suddenly, an open-top vehicle emerged from the crowd. A woman stood inside, waving to people lining both sides of the road.

A five-year-old girl standing with her mother on the sidewalk waved back.

The mother, Swapna Akhtar, said their house was nearby. Her daughter insisted on coming out after hearing the band. When they arrived, they realised it was an election campaign procession for Sanjida Islam Tulee.

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With an eye on attracting sectors considered decisive for the elections, President Lula has concluded that he needs to further calibrate his rhetoric and actions aimed at women in order to reverse disapproval of his administration among this electorate, which exceeds 40%.

DHAKA – As the dust settles on Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary Election, with the Election Commission (EC) declaring the 297 candidates elected to our parliament, a major source of disappointment remains: the systematic lack of women’s political participation. While a total of 85 women contested the polls last Thursday, including 66 with party nominations and 19 as independent candidates, only seven have been elected. Of the seven candidates, only one is independent; the rest are from BNP. Furthermore, as per pre-election stats from the EC, nearly a third of female candidates were relatives of influential men. Although in the ninth parliament, 21 women were directly elected, the total number of female contestants in this election was the highest on record. These numbers put the low participation of women politicians in perspective.

Myriad factors are cited by those who attempt to deny that a systemic exclusion of women persists in Bangladesh’s politics. But when a party announces outright that it will not include women in roles of leadership in a post-uprising Bangladesh, we must acknowledge the urgency of this problem.

Women played a crucial role in the ousting of the Awami League regime in 2024, yet hardly any female representatives were included in the July National Charter consensus discussions. When male politicians were subjected to enforced disappearance by Sheikh Hasina’s regime, it was the women in their families who led the fight for justice for years. The requirement by the Representation of the People Order, 1972, for political parties to reserve at least 33 percent of committee posts for women, including at the central level, was also not heeded by the major political parties in this election. Unsurprisingly, the recommendation by the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission to increase the number of reserved seats for women to 100 with direct elections was not accepted by political parties. Meanwhile, promises and sentiments about women’s empowerment by contesting politicians sound more like rote than out of a genuine wish to improve the persisting imbalance.

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