Charmonai Pir Warns Against Women’s Reserved Seats in Parliament

Staff Correspondent

Mufti Syed Muhammad Faizul Karim, Deputy Ameer of Bangladesh Islami Andolan and the Pir of Charmonai, has issued a stern warning against the inclusion of reserved seats for women in the National Parliament. He expressed his disapproval during a rally organized by Islami Youth Movement at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on Friday afternoon.

Preparations for the rally disrupted the ongoing setup for the Amar Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy. By Friday afternoon, the rally venue was packed with participants, and traffic came to a standstill on the Shahbagh-Matsya Bhaban road due to vehicles transporting attendees.

During his speech, Faizul Karim criticized the recommendations of the Reform Commission, which proposed a 505-seat parliament, including a bicameral structure with a 400-seat lower house and 100 seats reserved for women.

He stated, “Reserving seats for women in parliament will obstruct their empowerment rather than support their rights. We have always opposed quota systems, and if quotas are reserved for women, our movement will be rendered futile. There will be no reserved seats for women.”

Addressing the BNP, the Charmonai Pir remarked, “Elections will only take place after reforms. You are obstructing reforms, but where were you for the past 16 years? You promised movements after every Eid, yet nothing has happened despite countless Eids. You are conspiring to destroy the achievements of student and public movements.”

He added, “Since August 5, extortion and land grabbing have increased. The people of Bangladesh do not want to witness corruption and extortion. Those (BNP) who made Bangladesh the global champion of corruption five times should not be allowed back in power. Our movement is not over. We fought against fascism, and now we will fight against extortionists.”

The rally, chaired by Islami Youth Movement President Nesar Uddin, also featured a speech by Islami Andolan’s Ameer, Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim.