Role of women participation in the Pakistan electoral process reviewed at a national meeting

Author: Rebecca Khattak

Islamabad – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) agreed to implement measures to enhance the number of women participating in elections as voters, as candidates and as election staff as well as their effective role in elections at a national consultation supported by UN Women Pakistan.

Representatives from ECP, senior officials of government departments the United Nations, international community and civil society organisations deliberated upon the lessons learnt from elections 2013 and the possible mechanisms for augmenting women’s effective participation in political processes. Whereas the overall voter turnout was 55% women voter turnout is estimated at more than 40%. Yet according to the ECP’s own statistics there are more than 500 polling stations where women were unable to exercise their right to vote due to various socio political, religious and cultural norms such as gendered power dynamics, stereotypical positioning of women in the house and/or interests of political parties whereby they signed joint agreements barring women from voting.

Despite these limitations, there were considerable improvements with regard to steps taken by the ECP to include women and enhance their role in the electoral process such as coloured photographs on electoral roll, voter registration and door-to-door verification of the final electoral roll, magnetized ink for thumb impressions, tamper evident bags augmented by awareness raising among the masses for these initiatives.  The ECP for the first time initiated collecting gender disaggregated voter turnout statistics at the level of polling station and constituencies.

Promoting the mandate of UN Women to increase women’s political participation, UN Women Deputy Representative, (Officer in Charge) in Pakistan Sangeeta Thapa said, “Measures to help expand women’s rights to vote and to hold public office, and removal of any residual form of gender discrimination will go a long way in ensuring women’s effective participation in political processes.”

UN Women works to support women participation in the electoral process. As Pakistan is Signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, it has the obligation to report progress at international forums.

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