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THE recent election results in Bangladesh show that, while women are at the forefront, their presence is not translating into power. This is not a gender issue; it is a democracy issue.Politics

In February 2026, only seven women were elected, representing 2.4 per cent of the elected members, with four seats still vacant, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Parline database. The participation of women candidates was also too low. Eighty-five women contested in the election, representing about 3.9 per cent of candidates. This appears an electoral  politics still rigged against women. This is not an issue about the election results; it is about the message being sent to the people. Elections are meant to be the biggest audition for the people, and if women are not allowed to sit at the table, then they are not allowed to play.

Bangladesh prides itself on having 50 reserved seats for women. This is not about power; it is about descriptive representation. Even once the reserved seats are filled, the number of women will reach 57, or approximately 16 per cent of the total. The real issue is not about the number; it is about power.Human rights reports

This is why it is not enough to simply publish election results. The Election Commission has meticulously recorded election results by publishing the names of the elected candidates through official government gazettes. The Bangladesh Government Press has equally precisely recorded the entry of the February 2026 extraordinary government gazette. Clearly, the government has the administrative capability to achieve results with precision. The real question is whether it can develop the capacity to establish regulations that make women’s leadership electorally possible, not merely administratively possible.

In the broader regional context, other countries’ electoral processes can serve as both cautionary tales and guidance. For instance, the recent Nepalese election results in 2026 show the effect of quotas, where the numbers are increased, yet the actual contests remain out of reach. According to República, only 14 women won out of 165 first-past-the-post contests. Yet, according to The Rising Nepal, 82 women entered Parliament through proportional representation. The lesson here is not that quotas are ineffective, but that  political parties can achieve their gender quotas while still reserving ‘winnable’ contests for men.Politics

A similar phenomenon is seen in India, where IPU Parline data indicates that only 75 of 542 members, or approximately 13.8 per cent, are women. Yet, the constitutional amendment reserving one-third of the seats in the House of the People for women has been successfully enacted. This is according to the official e-Gazette. The constitutional amendment is real, but its effect depends on future delimitation after the results of the upcoming census, as mentioned in the official e-Gazette. PRS Legislative Research indicates that the constitutional amendment is real, though its actual effect is contingent.

Another example is Pakistan, which also uses a quota system and combines it with legal instruments. According to IPU Parline, women currently hold 72 of the 332 seats in the National Assembly, including 60 reserved seats. The Elections Act 2017 requires parties to nominate at least 5 per cent women candidates for general seats and allows authorities to question the results if women’s turnout is less than 10 per cent. But, as The Diplomat notes, having quotas and candidates doesn’t automatically guarantee women’s influence, leadership and safety.

All these examples point to a single fact: women’s visibility may be achieved, but power is still in the hands of a few.

Bangladesh doesn’t have to wait for a complete consensus to start taking steps. There are changes that can be implemented right away. For instance, moving towards the direct election of reserved-seat MPs by creating larger constituencies to provide women with a voter base would be a great start. Such models have already been designed by IFES.

Another change would be to make women’s nominations not just rhetorical but rather something that must be followed. Requiring parties to nominate a substantial number of women to general seats, especially in competitive seats, would be a step in the right direction. The requirement must have consequences, whether it’s party symbols or funding.

Another important obstacle is campaign finance. The cost of running an election campaign is often the criterion for viability. The introduction of audited public financing for candidates, along with strict spending limits, could go a long way towards levelling the playing field and reducing the structural disadvantages faced by women.

Another important aspect to address is intimidation. Misogynistic harassment, both in the physical and cyber worlds, acts as an invisible tax that inhibits the political participation of women. If such forms of malpractice are addressed and data are made available, it could send a clear message that political participation is not dependent on the ability to withstand such abuse.

Bangladesh is at a point where it is renegotiating  politics. As Reuters reported after the election that followed the country’s uprising, Bangladesh is in the process of renegotiating the power structure. The litmus test of the success of such a process is not in the power structure that emerges from it. It is in women’s ability to emerge from the process rather than just remain visible in it. Visibility is not power. It is, at the very best, an invitation. The success of the invitation depends on the institutions’ willingness to move beyond it. Bangladesh can still choose the more difficult but more democratic route that does not involve the gift of power but the ability to earn it through fair and equitable competition, and the provision of the resources and protection necessary to ensure that such power is not lost. Until such time, the representation of women in parliament is a photograph carefully composed to the point where the woman’s face is clearly discernible, but not enough to influence the hand that holds the keys.Human rights reports

Zillur Rahman is a political analyst and president at the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS). He is the host of ‘Tritiyo Matra’ on Channel i. His X handle is @zillur.

This article was originally published on The Newage.
Views in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect CGS policy.