In a country where the prime minister, the speaker of the parliament and also, the leader of the opposition political party are all women, the fact that none of the 39 registered political parties (to the Election Commission) have been able to make room for the required minimum 33 percent women members in all of their committees in the last 49 years is a very disappointing phenomenon.

According to a report published by The Daily Star yesterday, the EC is going to give another nine years to the political parties so that they can increase the level of women politicians. Previously, the EC had given a 12-year timeframe in 2008 for the same purpose, but the political parties failed to comply with the directive. It is unfathomable why for 12 long years these parties have not been able to find suitable women candidates for their committees and now they are going to be given another nine years to fulfil the requirement! The EC has prepared a new draft law titled "Registration of Political Parties Act-2020". The EC is going to send the draft to the law ministry soon (according to a deputy secretary of EC) and once approved by the ministry and passed by the parliament, the new law will extend the deadline of keeping 33 percent women in all the political parties till 2030.

The new draft law replaces the "Representation of The People Order, 1972". The RPO has a provision that says that 33 percent seats have to be reserved for women in all political parties of the country. The RPO also highlights that registration of political parties can be cancelled if they don't fulfil this criterion. Unfortunately, none of the major or minor political parties have been able to implement this directive. For example, the Awami League has 26 percent of women politicians, while the percentage for BNP is a mere 11 percent. The data show that the political parties of this country have not lived up to the expectations when it comes to ensuring women's political empowerment.

The RPO provision that states that registration of a political party without 33 percent women in it will be cancelled has to be strictly adhered to by the EC. The aforementioned report shows that the EC doesn't even know which parties have missed the deadline (that ended in 2020). So, transforming the EC into an active, aware and well-functioning autonomous body can be the starting point to bring about the necessary changes in our political scenario.   It is sad that even after so many years our political parties do not see the importance of having more women in their committees when there is so much evidence of the benefits of greater political participation of women. We have seen how, given the opportunity, women in leadership roles in public offices have performed well. Every political party is obliged to find eligible women candidates and help train them in leadership skills. This will ultimately benefit the party and the country.