Landmark advancement: Women lead field administration as DCs in 21 dists, 191 as UNOs
Special Correspondent
In a historic milestone for women’s empowerment in civil administration, female officers are taking on unprecedented leadership roles across field-level administrative posts in Bangladesh.
Breaking traditional records, women now serve as Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in 21 of the country's 64 districts, while 191 out of 499 Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) leading upazila administrations are female.
According to administrative data, female officers hold nearly 30.6 percent of key positions within field administration occupying 332 out of 1,085 pivotal field roles across the country.
Beyond district and upazila leadership, women also serve in 116 out of 478 Assistant Commissioner (Land) posts and account for 28 percent of Additional Divisional Commissioner positions.
This represents a significant rise from previous years, reflecting a steady structural shift toward greater gender inclusion in local governance.
Geographically, Dhaka Division records the highest concentration of female leadership, with 9 of its 13 districts currently headed by female Deputy Commissioners, including Ms. Farida Khanam in Dhaka, Syeda Nurmahal Ashrafi in Munshiganj, Israt Jahan Keya in Narsingdi, Nazmun Ara Sultana in Manikganj, Sohana Nasrin in Kishoreganj, Sharifa Haque in Tangail, Afroza Parvin in Rajbari, Tahsina Begum in Shariatpur, and Morjina Akter in Madaripur.
Female DCs are also actively serving in other administrative divisions, including Rozi Akter in Cumilla, Nazma Ashrafi in Rangamati, Monira Haque in Feni, Asma Shahin in Natore, Hure Jannat in Khulna, Kawsar Aziz in Satkhira, Lutfun Nahar in Chuadanga, Shilpi Rani Roy in Meherpur, Taslima Akter in Barguna, Annapurna Debnath in Kurigram, Mosammat Shukriya Parvin in Panchagarh, and Farida Yasmin in Sherpur.
This increasing footprint in field management aligns with broader strides in the central secretariat, where female representation includes 15 secretaries or equivalent ranks, 73 additional secretaries, 249 joint secretaries, and over 400 deputy secretaries.
Higher administrative posting decisions by the Ministry of Public Administration and the Cabinet Division are increasingly based on demonstrated merit, competence, and field performance rather than gender considerations, allowing female officers to manage challenging administrative and logistical duties in both urban and remote upazilas.
While administrators and policy observers commend this landmark momentum for enhancing public service transparency, empathy, and administrative accessibility, gaps remain.
Currently, none of the country’s nine Divisional Commissioner posts are held by female officers, highlighting that while ground-level barriers are receding, reaching full parity across all administrative tiers remains an ongoing effort.
