Beware the Bed of Fire: Gender, Democracy, and the Jama'at-i Islami in Bangladesh

In recent electoral campaigns in Bangladesh, the Jama'at-i Islami or "party of Islam" has claimed that a vote in its favor is a vote in favor of God and Islam; yet, the party repeatedly has failed to find significant support among what is generally considered a pious Muslim population. The Jama'at has attributed its electoral losses to secularist conspiracies, arguing that without such negative propaganda the "god-fearing people" of the country naturally would vote for its candidates. Through a study of the strategies and ideology the Jama'at has employed in its bid to attract women voters, I assess the extent to which the Jama'at is responsible for its inability to achieve broader support. I conclude that despite its public rhetoric,…