Bangladesh women's bill fails

The opposition is boycotting parliament at the moment

By Waliur Rahman Miraz in Dhaka

The Bangladeshi Government has failed to get a constitutional amendment aimed at increasing the number of women MPs passed in parliament.

The main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), rejected an appeal from the parliament speaker, Humayun Rasheed Chowdhury, to join the session and help the government pass the bill.

Opposition support was essential as the ruling Awami League and its allies do not have a two-thirds majority.

Boycott

The BNP, which has been boycotting the parliament for more than two years, refused to join the session only to pass a bill.

The party said it would introduce a new bill in the next parliament incorporating the demands of women's organisations if it won the next election.

All the major women rights groups in Bangladesh have been demanding a constitutional amendment seeking direct elections for women candidates and also increasing the number of seats reserved for women.

Further attempt

The Bangladesh constitution currently allows 30 seats to be reserved for women which are filled by an indirect election.

The provision, however, is set to go with the dissolution of the parliament on 13 July.

The government move was intended to extend the provision by another 10 years.

The Law Minister, Abdul Matin Khasru, said he would make yet another bid to get the bill passed.

The speaker has agreed to keep the bill active until the last day of the present parliament.