Dhaka, Aug. 12 -- The Samajik Protirodh Committee, an alliance of 67 women's rights, human rights, and development organisations, has rejected the proposal to maintain 50 reserved parliamentary seats for women through party nomination until 2043.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the platform said it was "deeply surprised" that political parties had agreed to what it termed a "regressive" proposal, asserting that Bangladeshi women are ready to contest reserved seats through direct elections.

During the National Consensus Commission's dialogue with political parties, the reserved seat issue emerged as the most divisive. Leftist parties, including the Communist Party of Bangladesh and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, advocated for direct elections t...