Once an inspiring symbol of women’s political leadership, Chattogram’s political landscape now tells a very different story. Women once held visible positions from parliament to local government, but now their presence among current nomination seekers from major political parties has almost died out.
Many female leaders, who aspire to contest any elections, do not even receive any calls for interviews for nomination.
During BNP’s nomination board meeting in Gulshan of Dhaka on Sunday, a total of 118 aspirant candidates for the next national election in 36 constituencies in Chattogram division were invited for interviews.
Only two of 57 nomination seekers from all the 16 constituencies in Chattogram district were women – they are Barrister Shakila Farzana and Monowara Begum Moni.
Shakila Farzana, daughter of former lawmaker Syed Wahidul Alam, seeks nomination from Chattogram-5 (Hathazari) constituency, while Monowara Begum Moni, president of Mohila Dal’s Chattogram city unit, hopes to contest the polls from Chattogram-9 constituency.
Both the female nomination seekers have emphasised that ignoring women’s leadership would disrupt the balance of politics.
Despite being active in politics for years, other senior female BNP leaders such as Fatema Badsha (joint secretary, Mohila Dal), Meherun Nesa Nargis (president, Chattogram North District Mohila Dal), Jannatul Naeem Riku (president, Chattogram South District Mohila Dal), Zeli Chowdhury (general secretary, Chattogram City Mohila Dal), and Irene Khondkar (daughter of late lawmaker Obaidul Haque Khondkar) were not invited to the meeting of the BNP nomination board.
“Women’s leadership in Chattogram has almost disappeared,” Barrister Shakila Farzana said while talking to TIMES of Bangladesh.
“There is little institutional effort to promote women within the party – that’s the most disappointing part. Although BNP calls for democracy and equality, its women activists are getting fewer opportunities in practice. I’m the only woman seeking nomination for a general seat, while others are looking towards reserved seats. That’s unfortunate for a major party like ours.”
Mohila Dal leader Monowara Begum Moni said, “In this male-dominated political culture, women remain deprived. We give our time, our labour, even our lives, but the nominations always go to men’s families. This cannot continue.”
A historical trail of women’s leadership in Chattogram
The history of women’s leadership in Chattogram dates back to revolutionary Pritilata Waddedar, who fought shoulder to shoulder with her male comrades in the anti-British armed movement and became a martyr.
After independence in 1971, the 1972 Constitution (Article 27) guaranteed political equality for women, introducing 15 reserved seats for them in the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament).
Sudipta Dewan from the Chattogram Hill Tracts became the region’s first female member of parliament under the reserved seat system.
In 1979, the number of reserved seats doubled from 15 to 30. During this period, Kamrunahar Zafar, wife of freedom fighter Dr Zafar, represented Chattogram in parliament and was reelected in 1986.
In the 1990s, Roji Kabir, Begum Nuri Ara Safa, and Mamaching from the Hill Tracts were elected to reserved seats in the 1991 parliament.
The post-1996 era
Awami League’s Professor Khaleda Khanam, known as the “Agnikanya (Daughter of Fire)” of Chattogram during the 1960s, became an MP in 1996.
BNP leaders Roji Kabir and Nuri Ara Safa again represented Chattogram in the national parliament in 2001.
Awami League’s Hasina Mannan and Chemon Ara Tayeb, Jatiya Party’s Mehzabeen Morshed, and BNP’s Hasina Ahmed became MPs from reserved seats in 2008.
Among women MPs from Chattogram were Awami League’s Wasika Ayesha Khan and Begum Sabiha Nahar Musa, alongside Jatiya Party’s Mehzabeen Morshed.
According to political analysts, this scarcity of women candidates is not limited to the BNP –it reflects a broader pattern across all major political parties. The number of women contesting outside the reserved seats has been steadily decreasing. Without institutional reform and genuine efforts to ensure equal opportunities, women’s participation in active politics is likely to decline even further.
Dr Anwara Alam, former principal of Agrabad Mohila College, observed, “Once, Chattogram’s women leaders illuminated the national stage. That legacy is fading fast. If political parties continue to sideline women, this crisis will deepen.”
Once led by figures like Sudipta Dewan, Kamrunahar Zafar, Roji Kabir, Nuri Ara Safa, Mamaching, Khaleda Khanam, and Chemon Ara Tayeb, Chattogram’s political scene is now facing an era where their successors struggle even to make it onto the nomination list – a stark reflection of the current reality.
