http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=36151
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Monday, May 12, 2008 06:58 AM GMT+06:00 Front Page
Women's Reserved Seats in Local Govt - Govt retreats from pledge
By Shakhawat Liton
In a surprise move the caretaker government has retreated from its
earlier pledge of reserving 40 percent seats for women at all tiers of
the local government system for three consecutive terms.
It is widely believed that the government has buckled in the wake of
violent protests by hardliner Islamist groups against the National
Women's Development Policy 2008.
The pledge however was made to effectively empower women at all levels
of the local government system.
On March 23, the council of advisers approved in principle two
ordinances regarding formations and functions of city cor****ations and
municipalities with the provision for reserving 40 percent seats
exclusively for women.
The government also had a plan to incor****ate the same provision in
other upcoming laws regarding formations and functions of union,
upazila and zila parishads, the sources added.
But an Ulema Committee formed by the government to review the women's
development policy, on April 17 in its recommendations to the
government, strongly opposed the policy and asked the government to
scrap the provision for increasing the number of reserved seats for
women in the local government system, representatives to which would
be elected through direct elections according to the earlier proposal.
Following the recommendations of the ulemas, the council of advisers
at a special meeting on April 24 finalised the two ordinances
regarding city cor****ations and municipalities scrapping the provision
for reserving 40 percent seats for women.
The finalised ordinances however propose to continue the current
provision for reserving one-third seats for women in city cor****ations
and municipalities, which is expected to be promulgated as a law by
the president soon, handing over a whopping victory to the Islamist
hardliners in the country.
According to the existing provision, Dhaka City Cor****ation (DCC) has
90 wards headed by as many commissioners. In addition, there are
provisions for 30 women commissioners. Each woman commissioner is in
charge of three wards. So in reality each ward has two commissioners
-- one generally elected commissioner and the other a woman
commissioner who is also elected by voters of three wards. This system
leads to conflicts in sharing responsibilities as generally elected
commissioners are often found to be non-cooperating with the specially
elected women commissioners. Similar power sharing systems exist for
other city cor****ations, municipalities and union parishads.
But the proposed law suggested 40 percent of the total 90 wards of DCC
be reserved for women. So, there would be no dual commissioner****p in
any ward. Such reserved seats for women were supposed to be in place
for three terms totalling in 15 years. After that the government was
to make a fresh decision on whether the reserved women's seats would
exist or not.
Defending the government's back flip, LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal on
April 27 claimed to the media that the provision for reserving 40
percent seats for women had to be scrapped, since it would come into
conflict with a court verdict.
A government formed expert committee on strengthening local government
institutions led by in***bent Health Adviser MM Shawkat Ali, which
came up with the original proposal, however did so after reviewing the
High Court verdict.
The committee found nothing wrong in reserving 40 percent seats for
women for the next 15 years, instead it argued that the constitution
does not discourage making special provisions for women's development.
Referring to the High Court judgement on a writ filed by some women
ward commissioners elected to reserved seats in Khulna City
Cor****ation, the LGRD adviser said the provision for reserving seats
for women should not be a permanent system.
The petitioners filed the writ to avoid being marginalised in the name
of being assigned with 'special duties'.
In fact according to the High Court's verdict, representatives elected
to reserved seats for women cannot be officially assigned with
'special duties' in local governments and they must be treated as
equals to other elected representatives.
The High Court verdict actually said nothing about the percentage of
seats to be reserved for women.
DRFAT LAW FOR ZILA, UPAZILA & UNION PARISHADS
Meanwhile, in line with the government's latest reversal of decisions,
the LGRD ministry already drafted a law regarding formations,
elections and functions of union, upazila and zila parishads without
keeping the provision for reserving 40 percent seats for women, who
would be elected through direct votes, sources in the ministry said.
The draft ordinance proposes to continue the current provision for
reserving three seats for women in each union parishad, having
jurisdiction over nine general wards, a source said.
Meaning, each elected woman to reserved seats in a union parishad will
have to share her authority with three other elected members, running
the risk of being marginalised.
At upazila and zila parishad levels, instead of reserving 40 percent
seats for women, the new draft law proposes to keep one-third of total
posts reserved for women, who will be elected through indirect votes.
Women, who are already elected to reserved seats at lower tiers of the
local government system will only be able to contest in elections to
upazila and zila parishads, and an electoral college of already
elected women to reserved seats at lower tiers will elect from among
themselves the representatives to reserved seats for women in upazila
and zila parishads, says the draft law.
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