Women’s Participation in Rural Local Governance of Bangladesh: Progress and Challenges

BangladeshBangladesh has made steady progress in the areas of economic development and women’s empowerment in recent years. The country has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of women emerging in leadership roles in public and political lives.   The year 1997 is significant from the perspective of grassroots women’s leadershipWomen’s Leadership as it paved the way for legislative reformsLegislative reforms in the local government laws of BangladeshBangladesh. The Local Government (Union Parishad) (Second Amendment) Act, 1997 afforded the opportunity and legitimacy to aspiring women candidates in rural BangladeshBangladesh to formally contest elections for the reserved seatsReserved seats in the Union Parishad (electoral representation in the lowest tier of the local government).