The Tamesis
January 7, 2026
Dhaka – Women remain largely absent from campaigns, with 30 of the 51 parties running in the upcoming national elections having no female candidates at all, Electoral Commission data shows.
The figures expose a stark imbalance – despite women making up half the population, their presence among candidates remains minimal.
Women were visible in movements, but in elections they were marginalized. Parties could have supported women financially, but even at the policy level, no such initiatives are visible.
— Jesmin Tuli, Member of the Electoral Reform Commission
Of the 2,568 candidates on the ballot on February 12, only 109, or 4.24%, were women. Seventy-two of them were nominated by political parties and the remainder were independents.
This exclusion was most pronounced among the Jamaat-e-Islami, which submitted 276 nominations, including not a single woman, followed by the Bangladesh Jamiat-e-Islami Party with 268 nominations.
Several other parties, large and small, have also fielded only male candidates, reinforcing what female activists say are symbolic and limited efforts to include the entire political spectrum.
No party, including the BNP, has nominated more than 10 women, underlining how limited and symbolic these gestures of inclusion remain.
Several political parties, including the Bangladeshi Congress-Khilifa (94), the Khilafa Majlis-e-Ittehadul Sabha (68) and the Bangladesh Islamic Front (BIF) (27), have similarly closed their doors to women, fielding only male candidates.
The Liberal Democratic Party fielded 24 candidates, the Jonotar Dal fielded 23 candidates, the Bangladesh Sangskritik Mukti Jote fielded 20 candidates, and the Bangladesh Congress Party fielded 18 candidates, all of which had no female representatives.
Jatiya Party (JP) (13), Bangladesh Khilafa Andolan (11), Bangladesh Nationalist Front (9) and Bangladesh Jasad (9) exclude women entirely.
The list also includes Nationalist Democratic Movement (8), Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Andolan – BNM (8), Bangladesh Muslim League – BML (7), Zaker Party (7), Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party (6) and Gano Front (6). There are also no women in the Bangladeshi People’s Party (Sirajul) (5) and Jamaat-ul-Islami Bangladesh (5).
Jatiya Ganatantrik Party – Jagpa (3), Islami Oikya Jote (3), Bangladesh Kalyan Party (3), Bangladesh Jatiya Party – BJP (Partha) (3) and Bangladesh Development Party (2). The Ghana Tantri Party, Bangladesh National People’s Party, Bangladesh National Action Party and Bangladesh Samadika Party, which are at the bottom of the list, fielded one candidate each, and none of them were women.
Jesmin Tuli, former additional secretary of the Electoral Commission and member of the Electoral Reform Commission, said the electoral process remains heavily male-dominated.
“Elections are not women-friendly,” she said, noting that the major parties nominated few women and smaller parties simply followed their lead.
She added that financial barriers, social attitudes and lack of physical strength further hindered women’s participation in the polls.
“Most women who have come forward belong to political families. Very few have risen through grassroots activism,” she said, adding that political parties failed to build women’s confidence or meaningfully include them on party committees.
“Women are visible in movements, but in elections they are marginalized. Political parties could have supported women financially, but even at the policy level, no such initiatives are visible.”
Among the 21 parties that have nominated women, the number is still small. The Jatiya Party (GM Quader) and the newly registered BaSaD (Marxist) nominated nine women each.
The BNP has been led by a woman for more than four decades and of the 328 candidates vying for the 300 seats, 10 are women. The party has asked various leaders to collect and submit nomination papers for individual seats in multiple constituencies.
Several other companies, including JaSaD, Ganosamhati Andolon, Basad and AB Party, nominated three to six women each.
Even political parties born out of mass movements with high female participation have limited inclusivity. The National Communist Party, composed of leaders of the July uprising, nominated three women among 44 candidates.
The Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972 requires political parties to reserve at least 33% of committee positions for women, including at the central level.
Yet nearly all parties failed to meet this obligation. In 2021, the Electoral Commission extended the deadline to 2030.
Munira Khan, president of the Alliance for Fair Election Supervision, called the situation “deeply frustrating.”
“Women make a significant contribution to the economy and make up half of the population, yet they are minimally represented in parliamentary nominations,” she said.
“We keep shouting about democracy, but the scene of democracy within political parties is very disappointing,” she added, questioning whether political parties actually enforced rules requiring women to participate in their organizations.
Shireen Huq, chair of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission, said she was “disappointed but not surprised” by the low female representation.
“This situation is a reflection of a male-dominated political tradition and culture,” she said.
Anticipating such an outcome, Hook said the committee had proposed a 50-50 representation model under which each constituency would have one general seat and one reserved seat for women.
She added that the proposal would expand parliament to 600 members, with women competing for reserved seats and elected through direct vote.
