Why is Bangladesh's new government missing women?

DW News · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Bangladesh's new government led by center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman was sworn in last week after his party's landslide victory in the February 12 general elections. The 60-year-old Rahman takes over leadership from the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. This transition concludes an 18-month interim period following a bloody student-led uprising in August 2024, which ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ended her 15-year rule. Rahman plans to lead a 50-member Cabinet over the next five years, promising reforms that the BNP agreed to during the interim period, which were approved by a referendum alongside the election. Among those reforms are initiatives to empower women, which comprise around half of Bangladesh's 130 million voters. What do Bangladesh's 'youth bulge' voters want?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Lowest number of female representatives in 25 years However, both his new government and the cabinet will oversee the lowest number of female representatives Bangladesh has seen in 25 years. Of the 300 directly elected members of parliament (MPs), only seven are female, and the 50-member cabinet included only 3 female politicians. Analysts say the gender gap will impact women's empowerment, as their voices won't gain prominence in the policy-making process. Even Rahman's women's affairs minister is a man. Rumeen Farhana is one of the seven female politicians who made it to Parliament after contesting as an independent candidate during the last election. She ran as an independent after the BNP expelled her before the election. She said the BNP prioritized male candidates. Farhana won comfortably from her constituency in a conservative region of eastern Bangladesh.​ Bangladesh lacks women in politicsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Systemic 'obstacles' to female representation Fahrana told DW that while there have been many potential female candidates, political parties are reluctant to field them due to fears of losing constituencies in competitive elections. "Our whole state and social structure is misogynistic, and even though our political parties talk a lot about equal rights for women, they don't believe in creating opportunities based on women's merit," Farhana said. "Our state and social structure, as well as the internal conflict of political parties, equally create all the obstacles possible against female independent candidates. It's not like we can't win an election, it's the structure that bars us from contesting," she added. Rumeen Farhana is one of seven female MPs in Bangladesh's Parliament Image: DW Monira Sharmin is a female politician with Bangladesh's newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), whose leaders were a prominent part of the 2024 uprising. Ahead of the election, the NCP formed an alliance with Islamist, liberal and centrist parties, and fielded three female politicians out of its 30 candidates. The other parties in the alliance did not include any female candidates. Sharmin withdrew her own candidacy shortly after the alliance was formed. "Before the elections, we proposed that there should be at least 100 constituencies where only female candidates of political parties will contest. But the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami parties opposed it," Sharmin told DW. "Our society still can't accept that a woman has an opinion, and many people don't celebrate our political statements; they would rather bully us," she said. "But when a male politician makes the same remark, they accept it," she added. "It's a psychological mindset of voters that needs to be changed, and political parties need to create an enabling environment for us as well," Sharmin said. What is the new government's plan for empowering women? Six of seven directly elected female MPs in Bangladesh's new government are members of the BNP, which is one of the largest political parties in the Muslim-majority country. In an exclusive interview with DW ahead of election day, Rahman explained his plan to empower women to receive better education and jobs. "We want to ensure education and financial independence for women. Then they can, on their own capabilities, earn nominations for all elections, be at the local or national level," he told DW. "Even if you speak about important positions, women will earn that on their own. We want to make it a long-term thing; slow but permanent," he added. However, Farhana, citing her own successful candidacy as an example, said that Bangladeshi women are already capable of contesting in elections if given the chance and a supportive atmosphere. "We have lots of female politicians in political parties who are capable of contesting in competitive elections even now. But our policymakers need to change their mindset to ensure a favorable environment for us. So far, they have even failed to ensure 5% women candidates in the elections," Farhana said.​Reserved seats in Parliament not a solution Bangladesh'sParliament reserves 50 additional seats for women in a bid to ensure their voices are heard. Those seats are filled by candidates selected by political parties based on the number of constituents each party won in the elections. ​However, analysts have said those seats mostly remain ceremonial and have little impact on policymaking. "Reserve seats ensure women's participation in the parliament. But they can't play an active role in women's empowerment and policymaking. Elected MPs don't take them seriously. So, their voices remain largely unheard in reality," Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Dhaka-based Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), told DW. "More and more women need to be elected directly in the parliament instead of those reserved seats. Only then will they be able to make meaningful changes that can help make policies helping women," she added. Khatun added that the labor force participation rate among women in Bangladesh is over 44%. But they are often burdened with social and family responsibilities, which hinder their progress. "We need a woman-friendly environment that ensures safety for women who want to work outside and participate in politics. Reducing the gender gap requires more awareness," Khatun said. Bangladesh's minorities report harassment ahead of pollsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Wesley Rahn