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New AL Central Committee

Women leaders get less priority

Only 15pc of73-member body are women

SHAKHAWAT LlTON and HASAN JAHID TUSHER
The number of women in the ruling Awami League's newly formed central working committee has come down, instead of going up as stipulated in the Representation of the People Order (RPO), the law that regulates election.
The new ALCWC announced on Wednesday night has 11 female members, including party chief Sheikh Hasina and four presidium members — Syeda Zohra Tajuddin,
Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Matia Chowdhury and Shahara Khatun.
On the immediate past 73-member working committee, there were 12 women, including the five named above, which was 16 percent of the total number. In the current committee, women's representation is 15 percent.
Under the RPO, a political party willing to get registered with the Election Commission shall have a specific provision in its constitution to fix the goal of reserving at least 33 percent positions for women in all committees, including in the central committee, and gradually achieve this goal by 2020.
To meet the registration requirement, the AL in 2008 included a provision in its charter, keeping reserve at least 33 percent of all committee posts for women and setting the goal to meet it by the stipulated time. The party constitution also went on to say efforts would continue to increase the ratio to bring a balance between male and female in the party bodies.
Ironically, all these promises remain in the book and the AL has yet to reserve any post for women in any committee.
Posts of two presidium members, one member and the party's environment and forest secretary are still vacant on the newly formed committee, but party insiders say there is little chance for women to come and fill those positions.
In the situation, the number of women members in the central committee needs to be doubled by 2020 to meet the RPO provision.
Since its registration with the EC in 2008, the AL has held national council twice — first in July 2009 and recently in December 2012 — and formed its central committee twice. The party may hold two more triennial councils before the deadline.
The number of women in other bodies of the ruling party is not encouraging either. The party's 41-member advisory council has so far 33 members on it, only two of them women. There are just two women in the 10-member AL parliamentary board.
Contacted, AL Presidium Member Nooh-Ul-Alam Lenin said they could not comply with the party constitution regarding keeping 33 percent posts reserved for women due to the “reality" in the country, meaning there were not as many women to fill the posts.
He also took credit, saying the proposal for keeping 33 percent positions for women was given by the AL, which the EC had accepted and
incorporated in the RPO.
“It's true that we can't make it always happen,” Lenin, who was made a presidium member on January 2, told The Daily Star.
Efforts to increase the number of women on the party committees were on, he added, and claimed they were already including more women in party committees.
Asked whether the party would be able to meet the 2020 deadline for keeping 33 percent posts for women, Lenin said: “Definitely the percentage will rise. But I am not sure if it will be 33 percent or not.... But surely we will take initiatives."
Insiders said no tires of the AL have 33 percent posts reserved for women. The number of women in Jubo League and Swechchhasebak League, two associated bodies of the ruling party, is markedly poor.