Women’s Leadership Skills Are Proven, Unlike Religion-based Politics

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman recently said in an interview with Al Jazeera that women cannot be the head of the party due to what he described as their physical limitations. To justify his claim, Dr Shafiqur referred to pregnancy and lactation, arguing that during these periods, women are unable to perform the duties required of a leader. True enough, pregnancy does come with certain challenges, but what he perhaps forgets is that there are numerous examples of women leading organisations – and even countries – during these days.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is a notable example. She gave birth to her first child eight months after winning the parliamentary election in October 2017. Ardern continued to perform her duties and led the world’s 52nd-largest economy with distinction. She went on to secure a second term in a landslide victory in the 2020 general election while her child was just two years old. She stepped down from office two and a half years later, citing exhaustion.
Jacinda Ardern is not alone. Many women have given birth while holding top public offices. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto became a mother during her first term from 1988 to 1990 and later served a second term between 1993 and 1996. Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are among those who chose motherhood while holding leadership positions. There are also instances where women have chosen not to have children in order to pursue their career goals.
Adverse physical conditions are a reality for all human beings, regardless of gender. This should not be used as justification to disqualify someone from leadership for life. Does Dr Shafiqur Rahman not take a break from manual work when he falls ill? This is not the only instance where Jamaat has taken a stance against women’s empowerment while simultaneously claiming profound respect for women. Respect, however, is closely intertwined with power. The largely ceremonial role of the president of the country illustrates how respect without authority is hollow.
Jamaat did not field a single woman candidate in the 13th National Parliamentary Election and sparked controversy by announcing that women’s working hours would be reduced to five hours if it formed the next government. The party later modified the statement, saying the measure would be optional and apply only to mothers of newborns.
Beyond its stance on women, there is a more consequential concern amid Jamaat’s highest-ever popularity ahead of an election: the vulnerabilities a nation may face under the rule of a religion-based party. A dominant concept in contemporary geopolitics is the erosion of the law-based global order, accelerated by repeated violations of international law – most notably by the United States during the presidency of Donald Trump. The American superpower cited allegations of drug trafficking to violate Venezuela’s sovereignty, while it has openly declared its interest in taking over Greenland. The election of an Islamic party could provide similar pretexts for foreign powers with vested interests in Bangladesh. Moreover, Jamaat has not clearly stated that it would refrain from enforcing Sharia-based law if it comes to power.
Meanwhile, a leaked audio recording revealed an American diplomat stationed at the US Embassy in Dhaka warning of a 100% tariff if Jamaat were to impose Sharia-based rule after being elected. However, the fact is that US foreign policy has never prioritised human rights over national interest, evident in Washington’s close relations with Saudi Arabia – a Sharia-based state. Even if they do so, it will be of little use because the threat of sanctions has rarely deterred religion-based parties from enforcing their ideology. In such cases, it is the people who ultimately suffer the consequences.
Like other religion-based parties, Jamaat-e-Islami seeks to attract voters by promising a just country rooted in Islamic values. However, no country governed by Islamic law is free from controversy. Middle Eastern states remain embroiled in regional conflicts despite partial implementation of Sharia-based governance. According to UN estimates, the conflict between Saudi Arabia’s coalition and Yemeni forces had caused more than 377,000 deaths in Yemen by the end of 2021. Additionally, the UAE has been widely accused of facilitating a genocide in another Muslim-majority country, Sudan, by arming the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Muslim-majority states in Asia are no exception. Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to experience escalating hostilities. An overnight border skirmish in October last year left at least 23 Pakistani soldiers and nine Afghan fighters dead. The myth of a just society under religion-based governance has already been shattered across the world. So, rather than questioning women’s proven leadership abilities, the rationality of religion-based politics in an increasingly fast-evolving world should be the focus of serious political discourse as Bangladesh aspires to a better future.

The writer is a Senior Sub-Editor at Daily Sun