Women Vice Chairman at the Upazila Parishad in Bangladesh A Ceremonial Adaptation

Abstract

Upazila Parishad is the second tier of the local government system based on the Local Government Ordinance 1982 to strengthen local government in Bangladesh. After several changes the act added one female vice chairman post to represent women in local bodies However since it inclusion these elected members are facing several barriars while performing their duties. This paper based on both primary and secondary data tries to argues whether the role of women vice chairmen in the Upazila Parishad are ceremonial or real panacea. The paper revealed that their role in the UZP are rather ceremonial and could not perform their assigned duties due to social and cultural context.