Bangladesh

Parliament

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

Data on women

Information on the current and historical representation of women in the parliament. Consult the 'Elections' tab to see how women have fared in elections or renewals.

Current representation

Women's representation in the current parliament or chamber

Current number of members
350
Women
70
Percentage of women
20.0%

Speaker

No information available

Secretary general

No information available

Chairs of specialized bodies

Specialized body Theme Name Sex Age
Standing Committee on Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Gender equality Safquta Yasmin Female 61

Data on age at the start of the legislature

Number of members, by age (2024-01)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 1 12 10 22 75 90 66 4 0 280
Female 0 0 3 5 7 23 23 8 1 0 70
Totals per age interval 0 1 15 15 29 98 113 74 5 0 350
Total <= 45: 31 Total >= 46: 319
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.3% 0.3% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
4.6% 4% 0.9%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
8.9% 7% 2.3%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Yes
Women
50

Notes:

In accordance with the Constitution's Fifteenth Amendment Act approved by parliament on 30 June 2011, fifty seats are reserved for women. They will be elected by members in accordance with law on the basis of procedure of proportional representation in the Parliament through single transferable vote.

In 2018, the Seventeenth Amendment Act of the Constitution extended the provision for reserved seats for women for another 25 years starting 30 January 2019.

Sources:

https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas-database/country?country=19

Article 65(3) of the Constitution of the People‌‌‍’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Electoral quota for women
No

First woman in parliament

Year of first woman in parliament
1973

Notes: 1973: Seats reserved, with election by co-optation.

First woman speaker

Year of first woman speaker
2013

Women’s suffrage

Date of independence
1972
Women’s right to vote
1937
Restricted or universal suffrage
Restricted
Detail of restrictions
literacy, income and tax payer
Women’s right to vote
1972
Restricted or universal suffrage
Universal

Notes: At the independence of Bangladesh, women's suffrage was confirmed. Prior to independence, the Government of India Act, which was adopted in 1935 granted conditional suffrage to women. According to information provided by Pakistan, women had to be literate, have an income and pay taxes. When Pakistan became an independent dominion in 1947 this right was confirmed and also applied to Bangladesh, then being East Pakistan.Universal suffrage was granted to women in Pakistan in 1956, when Bangladesh was still a part of it.

Women's right to stand for election
1937
Restricted or universal
Restricted
Detail of restrictions
Women must have an income; pay taxes and be literate in order to stand for election.
Women's right to stand for election
1972
Restricted or universal
Universal

Notes: At the independence of Bangladesh, women's suffrage was confirmed. Prior to independence, the Government of India Act, which was adopted in 1935 granted conditional suffrage to women. According to information provided by Pakistan, women had to be literate, have an income and pay taxes. When Pakistan became an independent dominion in 1947 this right was confirmed and also applied to Bangladesh, then being East Pakistan.Universal suffrage was granted to women in Pakistan in 1956, when Bangladesh was still a part of it.

Women's caucus

Women's caucuses or parliamentary groups that bring together women parliamentarians to strengthen cooperation and amplify their voices. For other parliamentary bodies or committees that have a specific mandate to address gender equality matters, see the ‘Specialized body – Gender equality’ tab.

There is currently no women's caucus in this chamber.

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No