Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) placed a demand on Sunday for holding direct election for reserved women seats in parliament for the next two terms.
It also recommended increasing the reserved women seats in parliament to two-thirds of the total and delimiting the constituencies.
The Parishad also stressed the need for women's active participation and their rational/proper representation from the grassroots to the top level for building an accountable and people welfare-oriented state.
The BMP came up with the views at a discussion titled "No selection for reserved women seats in Parliament: Want election" with participation of political leaders and citizens at its office in the capital.
Acting movement secretary of BMP Rekha Chowdhury read out a statement at the discussion presided over by its president Ayesha Khanam.
The leaders of the women's human right organisation criticised the government for extending the duration of 50 women reserved seats for the next 25 years.
The parliament on July 08 extended the tenure of 50 women reserved seats for the next 25 years through the seventeenth amendment to the Constitution.
Through the passage of the Bill (Bangladesh Constitution (Seventeenth) Amendment Act, 2017), the womenfolk will appear as a dependent group to the political parties, which is disgraceful for women, the BMP observed.
It also noted that under the existing system, the women MPs (members of parliament) of reserved seats could not play their due role as political party leaders or activists or policymakers.
President of Communist Party of Bangladesh Mujaheedul Islam Selim said the demand for direct election for women reserved seats in parliament is a demand of all.
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