TIB slams Jamaat’s reaction to research on female representation

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has criticised the statement by the secretary general of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami regarding its recently published research report on female representation in the central committees of political parties as misleading.

Jamaat’s reaction on the report, titled “Institutional Governance of Political Parties in Bangladesh,” is misleading and a misrepresentation of the facts, said a TIB press release.

TIB described the formation of separate committees for women as a nominal compliance with the RPO 1972, and portraying these committees as evidence of women’s inclusion at all levels of the party as mere window dressing.

TIB expressed surprise at Jamaat’s denial of the research findings and its characterisation of the information as “untrue”, despite the facts presented in the report.

At the same time, TIB appreciated Jamaat’s decision to review the research report seriously.

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TIB’s research states that, under Article 90B, Clause (1), Sub-clause (b), Item (ii) of the RPO, 1972, the constitutions of all political parties must set a target of reserving at least 33% of membership positions for women in committees at all levels and achieving this target in phases by 2030.

However, an analysis of women’s representation in the central committees of political parties reveals significant shortcomings in complying with this legal provision. In this context, the term “central committee” refers to the central or national executive committee, central executive council, or central working committee.

According to information published on Jamaat’s website, its 19-member Central Executive Council for the 2023–25 period has no female members. This constitutes a clear violation of the relevant provision of the RPO, which requires women to be included in every committee of a political party.

The research also points out that Jamaat-e-Islami did not nominate any female candidate for any constituency in the 13th National Parliamentary Election. Despite the party’s claim that women constitute 43% of its membership, not a single woman was nominated from among them to contest the election.

Jamaat, however, made no comment on this issue in its statement.