Dhaka, Friday, Jul 17, 2026
For decades, Bangladesh has celebrated the rise of women in politics, but in practice, their presence in parliament is shrinking. Despite policy initiatives and growing public discourse on gender equality, the 13th national parliamentary election saw only seven women directly elected, a stark decline from previous terms. This marks a drop from 19 directly elected female MPs in the 12th parliamentary elections of 2024 and 22 in the 11th elections of 2018, which remains the highest number of directly elected women in the country’s history.Sources indicate that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to form the government for the fourth consecutive term with an absolute majority. Among the victorious candidates, six women belong to the BNP. They are: Afroza Khanam Rita from Manikganj-3, Israt Sultana Elen Bhutto from Jhalokathi-2, Tahsina Rushdi Luna from Sylhet-2, Shama Obaid Islam from Faridpur-2, Nayab Yusuf Ahmed Islam from Faridpur-3, and Farzana Sharmin Putul from Natore-1. ...
