The Bangladesh national elections in January 2024 had dashed any hopes for political reform as the Awami League party’s power remained unchallenged and civic space, including the space to seek greater gender equality, was shrinking daily. Now that the Awami League and its leader Sheikh Hasina has been overthrown, is this an opportunity to bring about greater gender justice in Bangladesh?
Our research in Bangladesh with IDS under the Sustaining Power (SUPWR) and Countering Backlash programmes shows that various gender justice struggles seeking to bring about gender-equal changes in policies, laws or the enforcement of existing laws and policies in women’s favour, found the previous government policy makers deprioritised the gender justice agenda. This lack of engagement came out strongly in our new research on the reform of the Hindu family law that disadvantages Hindu women, and on online gender base violence and safety of feminist activists on-line (publications forthcoming).
The student-led Anti-Discrimination Movement, which has led to a new interim government in Bangladesh may have created new opportunities for furthering gender justice, both in the way it is unfolding and as part of its goal to ensure state reform that addresses the structural causes of authoritarianism, centralisation of power, corruption and injustice.
Women’s participation in the Anti-Discrimination Movement
Female high school and university students had a visible and significant presence in the anti-discrimination movement. Without their participation and involvement, the struggle might have failed. In July 2024, during critical points of the movement, the female students in the residential halls of the public universities found it easy to organise and came out en masse to show support for change.
For example, after the brutal attacks on protesting students on 15 July by the ruling party cadres and the police, the female students from Ruqayyah Hall, at Dhaka University led the counter protests, coming out of the dormitory at midnight armed with steel plates, spoons, and ladles making noise and chanting slogans. They were quickly joined students from other female dormitories and then the male students.
Women students were united in their protests across social divides- whether they wore hijabs, traditional Bengali (sari or shalwar kameez) or western attire, were from the capital city or more remote areas. The protests were as safe, or as dangerous, for a young woman to come out as for a young man. Women were seen marching against the police and the armed student cadres, being beaten, carrying sticks, protecting their male and female companions from attacks the police, physically trying to stop police vans and painting graffiti on walls. There were images of women protesters wounded and killed.
It is an established tactic of student politics to put women at the front of marches, feeling that they are less likely to be physically attacked. However, the brutal attacks on female students in 2024 breaks the stereotypes of the ‘delicate frail females’ who would not be beaten and who are too frail to fight back.
Legacy of previous struggles and family support
What increased female participation? At the university level there are almost equal numbers of women and men among students. The frustrations and demands which mobilised the students were felt keenly by both women and men. Women also has support from their peers, family and from society. The legacy of earlier movements also influenced female participation. Earlier protests have has women participating in visible and large numbers at all stages of movements from the Shahbagh movement for punishment for liberation war criminals to the more recent protests for road safety (2018) or movements such as Rage Against Rape (2020). But in July–August 2024 the numbers of women present in the protests seems to have beaten all previous records.
The women involved in the movement were not only students. It included parents, both fathers and mothers of the students who rallied after the violence perpetrated against them. Older women of all backgrounds, many of whom had never protested on the streets before, came out, persuaded to do so by young family members. Female artists, performers, civil society actors, lawyers, teachers were vocal in showing their support for change.
Gender justice in political transitions
While women were fully involved in the movement, once things settle down, would they hold leadership roles? Nusrat Tabassum, one of the female student Coordinators of the movement said in a CPD discussion on August 14 2024 that when one type of discrimination would be addressed, other types would automatically be addressed too. Unfortunately, we know from history that gender discrimination often gets the least priority in political transitions.
In the period between when the former Prime Minister fled and the Interim Government was formed, the male student coordinators appeared to play a leadership role. Many women’s groups and others questioned if the female leadership was overlooked. On 8 August 2024 I attended a protest organised by “Khubdo Nari Samaj” (Angry Women) with the question “what about female representation?”. The interim government has been formed through negotiations with political parties and the student movement, mediated by the army. The interim government includes four women civil society leaders but no female student representatives.
A different future for women of Bangladesh?
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement has not yet articulated any objectives directly related to gender justice. But the female coordinator’s have articulated demands for ending gender based violence and harassment free campus and society.
The initial demand for quota reform wanted removal of 30 percent quota reserved for freedom fighters and their descendants, so government jobs were available based on merit. This led to abolishing the quota for recruitment of women as well, as the female students felt that they can compete based on merit and did not need preferential treatment. This reading of the situation is yet to be backed by any kind of review of employment statistics. A greater concern is that while women are recruited, retention of women in the service has been difficult; this is where gender biases tend to come in.
The Anti-Discrimination Movement envisages state reform to set in place legal frameworks, structures and processes based on principles of antidiscrimination, accountability to citizens and representation of all interest groups, to be safeguarded. There are discussions on constitutional reforms. The women’s movement has long advocated for the removal of the 8th Amendment which made Islam the State religion. The argument forwarded by the women’s movement was that religion itself is discriminatory towards women, particularly the religious family laws that govern women’s private lives.
Further gender equity needed
Article 28 (2) of the Bangladesh constitution states that “Women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the State and of public life”, but therefore by implication, not equality in private life. Women’s groups have long demanded changes in the electoral system for fair representation. Discussion on changes to the electoral system stressed that the first-past-the-post system should be replaced by proportional representation. This could also mean mandatory inclusion of women in the electoral lists for positions where there is a fair chance of their being elected. These are just few examples of what changes are needed to further gender equity in Bangladesh.
Unless women of all generations can make their voices heard and have a seat at the table there is a risk that the opportunities offered by the present critical juncture will be lost. The gender dimension of every single reform needs to be identified, debated and addressed. There is an urgent need to bring together women’s rights activists’ past experience of analysis and advocacy in each of these areas with the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement’s energy and determination, so that we can bring about systemic and sustainable change.
This blog was originally posted on the Institute of Development Studies’ website.
