Rationality of Reincorporating the Reserved Seat Provision in the Constitution of The People’s Republic of Bangladesh

The Constitution (17th Amendment) Act 2018, passed on this 8th July 2018, provides for the tenure of the reserved seats for women in Parliament to be extended for a period of 25 years from the first day of the 11th parliament. In Bangladesh, there is a consensus in general that women’s political participation is necessary for both the democratic development of the country and women’s empowerment. Studies and research on the constitutionality of the Reserved Seat Provision for women in Parliament show that this Reserved Seat Provision does not actually help women impact in the political process in Parliament and/or in achieving the goals of women empowerment. Hence, this paper shall discuss how this Reserved Seat Provision is affecting the election system, leaving a scope for it to be less democratic, effective, and meaningful. This paper shall highlight that merely a sizable presence of women in Parliament for such a long period won’t aid in achieving the aims and objectives of women empowerment. This paper shall conclude with the recommendation that the Reserved Seat Provision may be integrated in the Constitution in a manner that provides for direct election of reserved seat nominations for women in Parliament and that too should not be in the Constitution for an indefinite period.