'Introduce direct election to JS seats for women'

They also urged the government to increase the number of seats for women in parliament.

The roundtable was organised by Bangladesh Mahila Parishad at CIRDAP auditorium in the city.

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The speakers said the people at the grassroots level would have to be united to free the parliamentary election from black money and muscle power.

"In order to consolidate the country's democratic process, political right of women must be established along with their voting rights," said Ayesha Khanom, general secretary of the parishad.

In her keynote paper, Rekha Chowdhury said the government should fulfill its election pledge by giving direct election to the seats for women in parliament.

General Secretary of Gonoforum Saifuddin Ahmed Manik, Joint Editor of the Prothom Alo Abdul Qaium and Prof MM Akash of Dhaka University also took part in the roundtable.