Dhaka, Jan 28 (NationPress) The upcoming 13th Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, set for February 12, are notable for two major factors: the absence of the Awami League, the nation’s oldest political party, and the significantly low number of women candidates participating in the elections, as highlighted in a recent report.

Under the administration of interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus, the Awami League has been banned due to accusations of misgovernance, preventing its participation in the elections. Additionally, the rise in lawlessness and hostility towards women has contributed to the decline in female candidates, according to a report in Eurasia Review.

Critics argue that excluding the Awami League from the elections raises concerns over the legitimacy of the electoral process. Nevertheless, civil society and various political factions have accepted Yunus’s decision to remove the party and its followers from the political landscape of Bangladesh.

Historically, women have had the right to vote and have successfully contested elections, producing two female Prime Ministers: Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). However, the current number of female candidates for the February 12 elections is alarmingly low,” noted senior journalist P K Balachandran in Eurasia Review.

Despite 51 registered political parties participating in the election, over 30 of them, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, have not nominated any women candidates. Out of 2,568 nomination papers, only 109 were submitted by women, representing merely 4.24% of the total, he reported.

Following adjustments to the candidate list, 1,981 individuals are now contesting, with only 76 females, making up just 3.84% of the total candidates. The Election Commission has indicated that there are approximately 64.81 million male voters and 62.87 million female voters registered.

Among the 51 parties involved, only a handful have selected women candidates. The BNP nominated women for 15 constituencies, though only 11 candidatures were confirmed. The Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Marxist has nine female candidates, while the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and Insaniat Biplab Bangladesh each have six. Other parties, including the Ganasamhati Andolan, Jatiya Party, and Ganaodhikar Parishad, have also nominated a few women, while the National Citizen Party has only three women candidates among its 44.

The Biplobi Workers Party has put forward two women candidates, while various smaller parties, including the Bangladesh Muslim League, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), and others, have nominated one woman each. Conversely, no women are contesting from parties like Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Andolon Bangladesh.

“The increase in violence and harassment against women has deterred them from engaging in electoral politics. Data from the Human Rights Watch indicates a rise in gender-based violence from January to June 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Dr. Fauzia Moslem, president of the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, attributes this surge to the escalating rhetoric from Islamic radical groups aiming to limit women's freedoms and societal participation,” Balachandran expressed.

“In May 2025, extremist Islamic factions protested against the interim government’s initiatives to enhance gender equality, demanding an end to actions they deemed 'anti-Islamic.' Since then, women and girls have faced various forms of abuse, including verbal, physical, and digital violence, severely restricting their voices,” he added.