For the first time since 1969, women in south Rupsha union under Faridganj upazila of Chandpur in Bangladesh exercised their franchise in the 13th national election and referendum held on Thursday, marking a historic shift in the area’s electoral participation.
According to locals, women in the union were informally barred from voting in 1969. Since then, despite repeated efforts by the Election Commission and local authorities, women had refrained from taking part in elections.
The development was reported by The Daily Star, quoting local accounts and election officials, with inputs from Prothom Alo.
From early morning, polling centres across the union witnessed a steady turnout of women voters, many casting ballots for the first time in their lives.
“I am feeling very happy to have voted for the first time in my life today,” said Ayesha Begum, 70, at the Gridhkalindiya High School polling centre.
Asked why she had never voted before, Ayesha said, “There was a restriction [on voting by women]. After locals convinced us, we came to vote.”
Nurjahan Begum, who has lived in the area for 45 years since her marriage, said she had never voted until now.
“Everyone told us that since women can have jobs, go to the market and do everything, why can’t you vote? Voting isn’t haram in Islam, so there is no problem with it. So we came to vote today. Not participating in previous elections had been a mistake,” she said.
At the Gridhkalindiya High School centre, presiding officer KM Lokman Hakim said there were 3,603 registered voters, including 1,811 men and 1,792 women. “Till 9:30am, a total of 401 voters had cast their franchise, including 159 women,” he said.
A similar turnout was observed at the Charmandari Shaheed Smriti Government Primary School centre. Presiding officer Abdus Samad noted that many women voters were unfamiliar with the voting process, as they had never participated before.
The union has 21,695 registered voters, including 10,299 women.
In the run-up to the polls, the Chandpur district administration organised awareness meetings to encourage women’s participation.
“Voting by women is not a crime according to Islam. The then military administration’s directive 56 years ago was misinterpreted locally, depriving women in this union of their voting rights all these years, which is unacceptable,” said Nazmul Islam Sarkar, deputy commissioner and returning officer in Chandpur.
During a visit to the Gridhkalindiya High School centre around 11 am, Chandpur Superintendent of Police Rabiul Hasan said authorities had assured women there would be no issues if they turned up to vote. “Realising that, women have come to vote. So far, there has been no untoward incident across the district,” he added.
