Five out of seven second-time lawmakers for reserved seats for women have seen an increase in their income in the last five years.

Three of them have seen an increase in both their movable and immovable assets alongside their income.

The affidavits filed by the candidates for reserved women's seats with the Election Commission revealed such information.

On February 28, MPs elected to the 50 seats reserved for women in the 12th national parliament took their oaths. Awami League candidates have been elected in 48 seats, while candidates from main opposition Jatiyo Party got the remaining two.

Among them, seven were reserved seat MPs in the 11th parliament -- Waseqa Ayesha Khan, Farida Khanam, Aparajita Haque, Nahid Izhar Khan, Shabnam Jahan, Aroma Dutta, and former state minister Fazilatun Nesa Indira.

While incomes increased for five of the seven, one saw a decrease in her income in the last five years, and one did not show any income.

The yearly income of Shabnam Jahan, general secretary of Mahila Awami League, saw a huge rise, as she used to earn Tk 3.6 lakh in 2019, which rose to around Tk 75 lakh in 2024, a 20-fold rise.

She possessed immovable assets worth Tk 1.86 crore five years ago, which increased to Tk 2.98 crore in 2024.

Aroma Dutta's yearly income saw a four-time rise -- Tk 15.40 lakh to over Tk 65 lakh, while her movable and immovable assets have also increased in five years.

Aparajita Haque's income decreased from Tk 32,88,653 a year in 2019 to Tk 23,08,700 in 2024.

However, her movable and immovable assets increased seven and two-fold, respectively, in this period.

Farida Khanam did not mention any profession in any of her two affidavits. She mentioned immovable assets worth Tk 81,25,000 in 2019, but she claimed she does not own any immovable assets in the latest affidavit.

Meanwhile, her movable assets increased ten-fold in five years, as the value of the assets has increased to over Tk 81 lakh from Tk 8 lakh in 2019.

Nahid Izhar Khan has witnessed a decline in her immovable assets, while Waseqa Ayesha Khan's immovable assets have remained the same. However, both their incomes rose 1.5-fold.

Former state minister Indira's yearly income also increased from Tk 32,52,957 to Tk 50,00,032 in last five years.

Her movable wealth doubled in this period, while her immovable assets have remained the same.

WEALTH OF NEW MEMBERS

Jatiya Press Club President Farida Yasmin has become a reserved-seat MP this year.

According to her affidavit, she earns Tk 12,66,000 yearly. She has Tk 8,43,000 in cash and Tk 2 lakh in the bank.

Chapainawabganj district AL member Zara Jabeen Mahbub's annual income is Tk 90 lakh. She has immovable assets of Tk 2.4 crore.

Hashina Bari Chowdhury, another AL nominated lawmaker, was a reserved woman councillor of Dhaka North City Corporation. She has an annual income of over Tk 4 lakh, while she possesses Tk 1.18 crore in cash.

AL's Agriculture and Cooperative Affairs Secretary, Faridunnahar Laili, earns Tk 24 lakh per year, while she has movable assets worth around Tk 2 crore.

Others whose movable assets exceed crores include Ashrafun Nessa, Shamima Harun, Parveen Zaman, Runu Reza, Nadia Binte Amin, and Bedora Ahmed Salam.