Religion, Politics and Political Empowerment in Bangladesh

Abstract

The title of this thesis is Religion, Politics and Political Empowerment in Bangladesh .In this thesis, we will examine the position of Religion, Politics and Political Empowerment in Bangladesh. This thesis also covers about the real meaning of Religion, Politics and Political Empowerment, historical background of Politics and Empowerment, the mixing situation of religion and politics, different systems and activities by political parties to achieve political power. The Political history of Bangladesh is a short one, even when one includes the pre-liberation period or what can also be called the Pakistan era. But short history is full of problems and tragedies associated with political experimentation. Since the end of British colonial rule in 1947, the people of the country have experienced an uncountable number of political parties, numerous political movements and uprisings. There are five major political forces in the country. The Awami League (AL), the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Bangladesh Communist party, the Jatiya Samajtantrick Dal and the Jatiyo Party (JP). There is a singular lack of tolerance in the political party system who’s the major opposition parties are often at violent loggerheads. Trade-Union and student wings mirror the political inclinations of the present parties. Activities are more confrontational than positive. The party in power usually takes advantages of state resources to suppress opposition activities. Opposition to ruling government policies are often portrayed as anti-state treasonable activities and the state police machinery is used to make politically motivated arrests and repression of opposition members. Different political parties use religion in politics to achieve political power. But politics is always a field of the politicians. Religion is an important part of the society. The use of religion in politics adversely affects the life of the people and the governing system of a country. It brings destruction not only to the religious and ethnic minorities but also to the mainstream people of a country by imposing adverse norms by the misinterpretation of religion. So, Politics is the art of compromise and religion is the faith to an uncertain matter. They should have separate roots in their own way to the life of the people. Politics cannot run smoothly if there are religions in it. Politics and religion should run in different track. The history of the middle age as well as of the Bangladesh shows the negative consequences of religious influence in politics. It showed that the misinterpretations of religion by the parties are gaining power bringing damage and destruction for the nation. It creates the discrimination to the minorities. Birth of Pakistan in 1947 is the result of Religion and Politics. The split of Sudan to north and south can be a recent example of religious influence in politics. The religious influence in the politics had brought a massacre and destruction of the people and its cultural values during 1971.In 1972 Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation declared Bangladesh as a secular state banning religious politics. But in order to keep consistency with the religious values of 89.5 percent of the people he took some steps which made secret root to the religion to influence in the politics. The influence was not too much. But as a colonial state we go back to the military government after the tragic assassination of Bangabandhu, the root for religion to influence the politics had been widely opened. General Ziaur Rahman institutionalized the influence of religion in politics by amending the constitution and by openly allowing religion based parties in politics. Later, General Ershad made the root easy by institutionalizing this influence. Until 2001, although there were a few number of religion based political parties in Bangladesh, they did not have much influence in the politics. But in 2001, Begum Khaleda Zia's BNP made a coalition government with Jamat-e-Islam. By this way, the religion based political party directly came in state power and consequently the democratic values became distorted. The religious minorities were in a difficult position. They were beaten up, tortured and their houses were burnt and destroyed. Even some other Islam based political party followers were assaulted tortured and killed by the government party especially in the southern part of the country. Sheikh Hasina's government is also strict to establish the democratic norms and values by aborting the religious influences in the political life of the people. The student organization of Jamat namely, Chatra Shibir' and their violence has been banned. The government also has taken strong steps to those parties or groups which want to increase terrorism in the country in the name of religion. On the other hand, half of the total population of our country is women whose socio-economic condition is very low. Struggle for modernity, tradition, menwomen equality, social dignity, security and for multilateral pressure the position of women in the family is very complex. Though women work in educational institution, medical, factories, police, even in the uneven areas, women are neglected, tortured and persecuted. In the society of gender disparity it is difficult for women to stay parallel and enjoy the right of equal participant. But no socio-economic, political and cultural development is possible without the empowerment of women. It is a cruel reality; women are deprived in family and society, in decision making process, in administrative process of governance and most importantly in economic activities. Even the women contribute in the process of social development, which has also financial value, are being ignored by the society. The elected women member’s participation in local government bodies remains generally insignificant, as they are not given any specific duties. The absence of operational guidelines and terms of reference for female elected representatives, the limited capacity of the female elected representatives to operate in public institutions of this nature, the lack of awareness over their roles and responsibilities. Education is the strongest factor influencing women’s control of their own fate. In Bangladesh women are furthermore handicapped because of lower educational achievements and the prevalence of social norms that severely restrict their freedom of movement in the public place. And so they do not show interest in participating in local government activities. The malebiased environment within political institutions can deter women. The fact that there are few women on decision-making bodies means that these women have to work within styles and modes acceptable to men. As a result women cannot give attention to their issues. Sometime they are treated by their colleagues and society harshly. Many, if not all, male elected members harbor negative attitude towards elected women members. They believe women should not run for general seats. They denigrate the value of the reserved seats. Lack of cooperation by men in the local government is a significant barrier to women’s effectiveness in decision-making. The introduction of direct election to the reserved seats is undoubtedly a breakthrough for women in Bangladesh. In no other way could these women have moved in to these institutions and participated in them. Still there is in a gender imbalance in the ration of men and women in the local government bodies. As a result the elected women members have very limited scope to influence decisions. So, in order to give Bangladeshi women a place in the decision-making process, there is a need to increase the number of women holding political office at both the local and national levels. They need to be empowered mentally, economically and politically. That is why modern social science turned women development as the empowerment of women. However, any substantial increase in women’s representation in public life depends on the mainstream changes within the major political parties; the strong support and campaigning by women’s groups, NGOs, and the media; the removal of structural impediments, traditional mindsets, biases and attitudes based on gender roles, and access to financial resources. Roles and responsibilities of the women members should be clearly defined in the manuals and orders of local government. Work should be fairly distributed among the male and female members in such a way so that women member can meaningfully participate in all type of functions. To create greater awareness among women about their low status in society and the need to improve it, motivational programs along with programs for expanding opportunities for education, health care and employment should be launched. Specific programs should be undertaken by the government and nongovernment organizations in order to create an awareness among the women in the grass roots levels that political participation would give them an access to the political decision making process relating to the allocation of resources. Mass media should be used to educate and mobilize public opinion in such a way that the realization about the benefits of women’s full participation in the national development efforts is created among people. Priority must be given to monitoring the status, conditions and rights of women. There must be a sustained campaign for women mobilization, regular reporting of monitoring, public information and advocacy in this realm. Women should be given various opportunities for leadership training, training regarding the activities of local level and education in order to encourage them to take up political and leadership position. Supportive services should be provided to allow women participate in these training courses. A former member of the parliament from the AL, Sajeda Chowdhury, observed that, ‘Women must be encouraged to be more independent and self-reliant and that social norms and cultural values to be re-oriented’. There is an urgent need to undertake research on women’s participation in politics, their voting behavior, consciousness and participation in the political parties. However, the religion-based parties are opposed to women in public office. It is likely that in the national parliament of Bangladesh as well as in the local level politics, women’s representation will remain insignificant in the near future despite their enthusiasm to provide political leadership. Empowerment is a useful concept because it emphasizes the idea of women as active agents in, rather than passively recipients of development strategies. Therefore, participation is considered as an essentially first step in order to empower women.