The following information was provided on 26 November 1996 by a woman lawyer from Bangladesh who landed as an immigrant in Canada three months ago and who was invited as a resource person to speak on the involvement of women in politics in Bangladesh at the Montréal October 1996 International Conference entitled "Bangladesh: 1971-1996 Peoples Struggles." The conference was organized by the Montréal-based South Asia Research and Resource Centre (CÉRAS).

The Jatiya Mahila Dal or Jatiya Mahila Party (JMP) is the women's wing of the Jatiya Dal or Jatiya Party which was founded in the early 1980s by former president of Bangladesh General Mohammed Ershad. The JMP came into existence at about the same time as the Jatiya Dal and its main purpose was to support the Jatiya Dal platform. The main elements of the JMP manifesto were to make women economically and socially independent, to bring about an extensive program for women's education, to ensure equal dignity of men and women, to recognize the equal rights of women and their protection in social and economic activities, to increase the number of women employed in government services, to provide housing facilities for professionnal women, to introduce and enforce legislation to prevent violence against women, and to encourage women to run for public office and parliament.

Over the last two years the JMP has organized women's demonstrations aimed at bringing about the release of General Ershad from prison, protested against the sixth parliamentary elections, called for the parliament's dissolution, claimed solidarity with the non-cooperation movement called in March-April 1996 by individuals opposed to Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, demanded new elections under the supervision of a caretaker government, and participated in the 12 June 1996 election campaign.

The leading figures of the JMP are Mrs. Begum Rawshan Ershad, the wife of General Ershad and Mrs. Jenat Mosaraf Hussein. Two JMP members, Mrs. Begum Rowshan Ershad and Mrs. Tasmina Hossein, were elected as members of the mainstream Jatiya Dal in the 12 June 1996 elections to the 7th parliament. A third candidate, Mrs. Syeda Razia Faij was defeated in the polls. Three other JMP members, Mrs. Zinat Hossain, Mrs. Rabeya Bhuiyan and Mrs. Sabita Begum were allocated seats reserved for women in parliament.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Lawyer from Bangladesh invited as a resource person at the Montréal October 1996 International Conference entitled "Bangladesh 1971-1996 People's Struggles." 26 November 1996. Telephone interview.

Bangladesh Observer. Daily. May-November 1996.

Dhaka Courier (Weekly). May-November 1996.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

On-line searches of news articles.