Strengthening local government is an essential element of effective democracy, and effective democracy is a pre-requisite for ensuring good governance. Indeed, democracy works when all people including the most marginalized ones participate in the process of governance, can ask questions and seek accountability.
At the same time, full and equal participation of both women and men in political decision-making provides a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society.
It also enhances the legitimacy of political processes by making them more democratic and responsive to the concerns and perspectives of all segments of society. As we know in a democracy the voice of all needs to be heard equally.
By being empowered, rural people can take any decision for the development program by using their resources, knowledge and skills.
For third world countries, it is an indispensable pre-condition for sustainable development. Committees are small groups of representatives who are assigned, on either a temporary or a permanent basis, to examine matters more closely than could the institution.
Committees allow the representatives to perform simultaneously numerous important functions that otherwise might not be conducted at all.
These matters may include oversight of executive branch activities; examination of and reporting on the status of implementation of different projects and special investigations.
Since Committees operate under less formal rules committee members can discuss issues informally and develop relationships with committee colleagues who represent different interests.
For instance, women representatives’ offices are not likely to be centrally located, and the facilities for women constituents and other visitors signal the marginal nature of women’s roles and concerns.
That creates a collegial environment in which compromises on small matters and technical improvements in overall functioning can be agreed upon expeditiously.
Advocates of decentralization argue that it opens up avenues for women to articulate their interests, to enter arenas of political decision-making, and to advance women’s interests.
According to Article 29 (1) of the Upazila Parishad (UZP) Act 1998 (As amended up to 1st of December 2011), after the formation of Upazila Parishad, the UZP, with its vice-chairmen, members and women members, will set up one Committee of two and half years of duration for each of the following areas for effective implementation of different activities.
Article 29 (2) of the said Act states that the chairman of Committee (s) must be elected from Vice-Chairmen of the UZP. Article 29 (3) of the said Act states that the concerned government official of the respective department will act as the member secretary of the committee that is constituted under this law and UZP will select any official as the member secretary of such committee whose functions have not to be transferred to the UZP.
Article 29 (4) denotes that each Committee will be formed with at least 5 and at best 7 members and the committee, if necessary, will be able to co-opt any member (s) having specialized knowledge on that particular subject.
Article 29 (5) states that the co-opted members and the member secretary of the Committee (s) will have no voting right. Article 29 (6) of the said Act states that a meeting of every committee will be held at least once in two months.
According to article 29 (7), the UZP will reserve the right to dissolve any committee If the Committee fails to hold regular meetings in accordance with subsection 6 of article 29 or If the Committee takes any decision going beyond its authority given by this Act of any other Acts.
Apparently, the provision of the Act of 2011 provides that 17 committees are to be chaired by the two vice-chairpersons (male and female).
It gave the structural framework for women’s participation in political decision-making. It has also provided an opportunity to bring women to the center of local development and to develop new grassroots level leadership.
The effectiveness of the UZP Committee should not be predictable unless a sense of ownership creates among the committee members.
None of the women vice-chairs has expressed their discontent or disagreement about such decision of the Parishad which is indicative of the fact that women in throughout history, women are underrepresented in decision-making processes at all governance levels around the world and even they are dominated and marginalized politically, socially, economically, physically, and psychologically by their counterparts. Bangladesh is seen to play a second fiddle role as compared to men.
Such discrimination has been accepted by the women vice-chairs as taken for granted. This also indicates the low level of aspiration of women leaders in Bangladesh meaning that whatever is given to them they remain happy getting this.
Despite being elected public representatives, they have to work with limitations and inadequate funds, which hamper their daily activities.
For instance, women representatives’ offices are not likely to be centrally located, and the facilities for women constituents and other visitors signal the marginal nature of women’s roles and concerns.
Women vice-chairs’ complaints about the control of the UZP vehicle and computer by the (all-male) Chairs similarly reflect their exclusion from the resources of the UZP.
Female vice-chairperson faces impediment while discharging her responsibility as chair of different committees as well as conducting committee meetings.
For instance, the female vice-chairperson does not have any clear understanding of the objectives, functions and ToRs of the committees.
Exercise of Committees in UZP can leverage the coordination efforts of different departments to help the process of service delivery to the poor.
As a matter of fact, the effective functioning of the Committee may offer several benefits for the effective functioning of UZP.
Committees allow informal discussion among members that is required for the development of relationships among members belonging to different political ideologies.
Meetings of Committee act as the forum for reaching to compromise and agreement.
There are no strong interests in support of enabling women UZP vice-chairs to constitute the standing committees and convene other groups it is in their power to do; on the other hand, there are strong interlocking interests at several levels set against their doing so, and against effective accountability.
Besides, lack of ownership and positive will on the part of different actors about the committees seems a barrier to revitalize the committee rather they are more focused to hold departmental meetings.
Allocation from the respective line ministries always galvanizes and forces them to implement the decisions taken in the departmental committee.
And member secretaries are not playing the most important role in the functioning of the committees as they are setting agendas and making communication with the chair and other members.
Political participation is a means of gaining access to the power structure, where decisions concerning the allocation of resources amongst people and other issues of the community’s concern are made.
The essence of the committee system in the UZP is still unrevealed to most of the committee members. Schemes recommended through committee meetings do not get urgency in the regular meeting of the UZP.
Besides, most of the Union Parishad Chairmen who are the members of the different committees of UZP are not well oriented about their roles and responsibilities.
They show reluctance to attend the meeting rather they find the UZP meeting a worthwhile platform to materialize their demands.
The effectiveness of the UZP Committee should not be predictable unless a sense of ownership creates among the committee members.
Quorum in the committee meeting has come out as a strong barrier in the way of functioning of the committees.
Moreover, the issue of the functioning of committees has not yet received enough prominence among different actors of the UZP of non-intervention areas that could motivate members to actively participate in this process.
Due to the excessive workload of departmental officials and lack of notification by their line ministries, the member secretaries of the respective committees do not show enthusiasm to expedite the process of functioning of the committees.
Frequent transfer of officials who act as the member secretaries of the committees, sometimes, create problems in the process of effective functioning of the committee as the newcomer takes a long time to understand different aspects of the committees.
For overcoming hindrance that is creating due to lack of proper understanding and knowledge about different aspects of Committees, the coverage of the training needs to be increased.
The main intention of the training would be to provide them a better understanding of the importance of the Committees in the UZP and increase their capacity to deal with issues relating to the functioning of Committees.
For inspiring chairmen and members of Committees, the UZP should give priority to suggestions placed by the Committees in the UZP meeting on different issues.
National efforts to integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment into poverty reduction, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and environment and sustainable development have been the heart of the development program of the Bangladesh Government in recent years.
Citizens and civil society, including whether citizens more broadly and the women’s movement and civil society organizations in particular have the responsibility to mobilize to create a mandate to promote gender equity concerns at the Upazila level.
Mobilizing public opinion to secure a mandate for actions that promote gender equity through policy and implementation changes is important. Of course, female public representatives have to prove their capability through work and dedication.
Female vice-chairperson must be made aware of and involved in audits of local budgets and spending plans, in beneficiary selection procedures and reviews of final lists for the VGD, VGF, widows’ and old-age allowance, stipend, or school feeding schemes.
Political participation is a means of gaining access to the power structure, where decisions concerning the allocation of resources amongst people and other issues of the community’s concern are made.
Building a cohesive community requires spirit and enthusiasm among the divisive forces affiliated to various segments and groups to provide for consolidated efforts and cooperation.
The institutional structure has to be capable of cohering isolated groups and has to possess the correlative attributes of specialization and coordination.
Citizens and civil society, including whether citizens more broadly and the women’s movement and civil society organizations in particular have the responsibility to mobilize to create a mandate to promote gender equity concerns at the Upazila level.
Above all, political will must continue to be upheld and the spirit of unbiased participation irrespective of gender to the sustainable development process under the auspicious of local government must be preserved. Sharing of power can help empower women. Changing society’s mindset is also inevitable in this regard.
(Dr. Mohammad Tarikul Islam is an Associate Professor of the Department of Government and Politics at Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh. He is the Visiting Scholar of Oxford and Cambridge. Prior to joining the university, Dr. Islam was serving the United Nations for seven years. As a popular development columnist in South Asia, Professor Islam writes for the LSE South Asia Blog, Cambridge Global Human Movement Blog, Oxford Department of International Development Blog, the Khabarhub, the Daily Star, the Daily Independent, the Financial Express, The Business Time, the Daily Jugantor and the South Asia Monitor regularly)
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