PHOTO: PRABIR DAS

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Speakers at a roundtable yesterday urged political parties to move beyond “numerical inclusion” and ensure meaningful political empowerment for women by reforming internal nomination processes and dismantling structural barriers.

They said the upcoming local government elections would be a critical litmus test for Bangladesh’s democratic journey, offering an entry point for grassroots female leadership following a sharp decline in directly elected women in the 13th national parliamentary election.

The discussion, titled “Closing the Gaps: Strengthening Women’s Voice in National and Local Elections”, was organised by The Daily Star and UNDP Bangladesh at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.

Sharmin Islam, gender team leader at UNDP Bangladesh, presented an overview of the current landscape, noting that the recent national election marked a historic low in women’s direct representation.

Despite high voter turnout, she said the number of directly elected women dropped to a record low compared to the previous five elections.

“Even after decades of female leadership at the top, nearly 99 percent of people in Bangladesh hold some form of gender bias,” she said, citing the UNDP Gender Social Norms Index. “About 70 percent still believe men make better political leaders than women.”

Andrés Del Castillo, chief technical adviser to the UN Ballot Project, stressed international concern over the shrinking space for women in politics.

“The low level of participation is a red signal. It is time to act,” he said.

Dr Selim Jahan, professorial fellow at BIGD, highlighted the lack of women in the candidate pool.

“In a country of 180 million people where 51 parties participated, 41 parties could not find a single qualified female candidate,” he said.

He described a “tripartite barrier” that marginalises women as candidates, activists, and voters,

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