ZCZC
JS-05
BILL-CONSTITUTION-WOMEN-LEAD
Women’s reserve seats in JS to remain for 25 more years
(Recasts)
SANGSAD BHABAN, July 8, 2018 (BSS) – The Jatiya Sangsad today amended the
constitution to keep undisrupted the provision of the 50 women’s reserve seats
in the House for 25 more years.
The Sangsad unanimously passed the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment)
Bill, 2018 to ensure women participation and empowerment in the legislation
while it was moved by Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul
Haq.
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was in the chair as the House passed the
bill after it was cleared by the Parliamentary standing committee on Law,
Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry.
The parliamentary move came as the provision for the 50 women reserve seats
in the parliament is supposed to expire on January 28, 2019.
“Unless the tenure of the 50 women seats is not be extended through this
amendment, the provision of the women reserve seat will be abolished from the
constitution,” the law minister said piloting the bill.
The bill ratified the provision for another 25 years keeping intact scopes
for women to contest in general elections directly from any place and any
constituency across the country.
The Parliamentary standing committee members — Lawmakers M Tajul Islam
Chowdhury, MShamsul Haq Tuku, Taluder Mohammad Younus, Advocate Mohammad Ziaul
Haq Mridha, Begum Safura Begum, and Begum Amatul Kibria Keya Chowdhury alongside
the law minister — earlier scrutinized the bill as it was sent for its review
by the House as it was tabled.
In line with Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s
directive the post independence government had kept a provision of 15 women
reserve seat in the parliament for 10 years.
Later, the provision of the women reserve seats was extended thrice by
increasing the number to 30 under the 10th Constitutional Amendment in 1990 and
45 under 14th amendment in 2004.
The number of reserve women seats stood at 50 under the 15th Constitutional
Amendment in 2011.
BSS/OG/QC/AR/1927HRS