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Gender Mainstreaming in Parliament

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Abstract

Parliament is the apex representative body in a democratic country. A parliament cannot be said to be democratically elected and legitimate if it is not an inclusive institution that represents the citizens of the country, with all its diversity across gender, social class, and ethnicity. The international community holds the view that promoting a gender balance in parliament is essential for increasing legislative capacity, performance, and legitimacy (http://iknowpolitics.org/en/discuss/e-discussions/parliamentary-oversight-gender-equality). Democratic parliaments derive their legitimacy from their ability to represent all the citizens of their country. Therefore, where the role of women is hampered or limited, overall institutional legitimacy suffers as a result. The larger the presence of women in parliament, the greater the benefit to the nation. Parliaments with a greater gender balance are more representative, more responsive, and more effective in overseeing the executive, and enjoy higher levels of trust (http://iknowpolitics.org/en/discuss/e-discussions/parliamentary-oversight-gender-equality). However, women have faced inequality in most parliaments throughout the world in the past and even today. Against this backdrop, this chapter analyzes gender equality in the Bangladesh Parliament in relation to its organization, representation, legislation, budgeting, and oversight functions

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Parliamentary Oversight: A Study of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, An unpublished MPA Dissertation to civil Service College, Dhaka, (2012: 56–58).

  2. 2.

    Budlender D. (1999) ‘South African Women’s Budgets Initiatives’ paper presented for the women and political Participation in twenty-first Century Challenges, 1999, Cited in Helena Hofbaurer Palmori, BRIDGE-Gender Budget Package Report, www.Gender–budgets.org/index, p. 25.

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Obaidullah, A.T.M. (2019). Gender Mainstreaming in Parliament. In: Institutionalization of the Parliament in Bangladesh. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5317-7_9

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