Local Government

Local Government
Women were first elected to local bodies in 1973. The Union Parishad Election of 1997 is a
milestone in the history of political empowerment of women in Bangladesh. The Government of
Bangladesh enacted a law for direct elections to reserve seats for women in local level elections.
In 1997 through an Act, the Government reserved three seats for women in the union parishad
where women members are elected from each of the three respective wards. Apart from the
reserved seats women can also contest for any of the general seats. Previously, the process of
selection of the women representatives was on the basis of nominations and/or indirect election.
Around 12,828 women were elected as members in the 1997 local level elections. A total of 20
and 110 women were elected as chairpersons and members, respectively, for general seats. The
Government has already issued different executive orders to ensure women members’
participation in various decision-making committees.
The majority of women representatives regularly attended parishad meetings, but only a few of
them participated in the deliberations and decisions. The female representatives usually involved
themselves with mass education, family planning, immunization, handicrafts, relief activity, and
shalish (mediation in the village court). The women representatives have the potentials to
become change agents for rural women and various NGOs. A few government institutions such
as the National Institute of Local Government are training women on various development-related
issues, legal aid, and organizational structure of local bodies and their roles and functions to
enable them play their role effectively.