FROM SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WIRE (SACW)

14 May 2008

Dhaka retreats from pledge to reserve seats for women in local government

by Shakhawat Liton

In a surprise move the caretaker government has retreated from its earlier pledge of reserving 40 percent seats for women at all tiers of the local government system for three consecutive terms. It is widely believed that the government has buckled in the wake of violent protests by hardliner Islamist groups against the National Women's Development Policy 2008.

On 23 March the council of advisers approved in principle two ordinances regarding formations and functions of city corporations and municipalities with the provision for reserving 40 percent seats exclusively for women. The government also had a plan to incorporate the same provision in other upcoming laws regarding formations and functions of union, upazila and zila parishads, the sources added.

But an Ulema Committee formed by the government to review the women's development policy, on 17 April in its recommendations to the government, strongly opposed the policy and asked the government to scrap the provision for increasing the number of reserved seats for women in the local government system, representatives to which would be elected through direct elections according to the earlier proposal. Following the recommendations of the ulemas, the council of advisers at a special meeting on 24 April finalised the two ordinances regarding city corporations and municipalities scrapping the provision for reserving 40 percent seats for women.

According to the existing provision, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has 90 wards headed by as many commissioners. In addition, there are provisions for 30 women commissioners. Each woman commissioner is in charge of three wards. So in reality each ward has two commissioners – one generally elected commissioner and the other a woman commissioner who is also elected by voters of three wards. But the proposed law suggested 40 percent of the total 90 wards of DCC be reserved for women. So, there would be no dual commissionership in any ward. Such reserved seats for women were supposed to be in place for three terms totalling in 15 years. After that the government was to make a fresh decision on whether the reserved women's seats would exist or not. (Daily Star, 12 May)

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