As Bangladesh prepares for its first free and fair election in 17 years, women’s rights activists are voicing alarm over the growing influence of Jamaat e-Islami, an Islamist party once banned under Sheikh Hasina’s rule. The election, scheduled for Thursday following Hasina’s ouster in a deadly student-led uprising in August 2024, has been hailed as a democratic milestone. Yet many women who led the revolution now fear that the resurgence of conservative Islamist politics could erode hard-won freedoms and representation.

Jamaat e-Islami, previously persecuted and outlawed, has re-emerged as a major contender alongside the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Despite campaigning on reform and anti-corruption, the party has fielded no female candidates, and its leader’s remarks rejecting female leadership and denying marital rape have drawn sharp criticism. The National Citizen Party, formed by student leaders of the uprising, deepened frustration by joining Jamaat’s alliance while nominating only two women.

Analysts say Jamaat’s popularity among young, first-time voters reflects disillusionment with the old political elite. However, women’s groups warn that the party’s proposed policies—such as cutting women’s working hours—could reverse decades of progress toward gender equality.