Bar on women voters criticised

LAHORE
Rights activists have strongly criticised contesting parties including Awami National Party and Jamaat-e-Islami in the PK-95 constituency by-polls in Lower Dir for barring 53,000 registered women voters from voting in the election and demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to declare the results null and void.
According to reports following the by-polls on Thursday in KP which were won by JI candidate Izazul Mulk Afkari, no woman in the constituency where 179 polling stations had been established by the Election Commission for registered 86,926 male voters and 85 booths for 53,817 female voters in the constituency, cast their vote on the day.
The constituency which has come under fire due to claims of an informal pact between both parties over blocking women from participating in the elections is home to the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Senator Siraj-ul-Haq and his influence in the community was seen as a decisive factor in the victory of the religious party. Observers of the election had stated that the impact of these by-polls would have strong influence on the results of the local government elections to be held on May 30.
Expressing her concern over the alleged forced non-participation of registered 53,000 women voters, Chairperson for the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Khawar Mumtaz said it was a serious violation of the rights of women as citizens of Pakistan. The NCSW Chairperson said they had sent a letter to the Election Commission after learning of the matter and it was a positive step that the ECP had taken notice of the absence of women voters.
As women of Lower Dir were not represented in the PK-95 elections, Mumtaz said the results of the elections should be declared null and void with immediate effect. She dismissed arguments regarding tradition and said it was nothing but generalisation to serve male interests. She informed The News that the NCSW had sent recommendations to enhance female participation in the democratic process to the 33-member parliamentary committee on electoral reforms for inclusion in their report.
Speaking on the matter, Convener of Punjab Women Parliamentary Caucus PML-N MPA Azma Zahid Bokhari said JI’s defence citing traditional practices that restrict women to the household was ill-placed as women had registered for the elections and were willing to cast their vote. The caucus convener said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), the coalition partner of JI in the KP government, should also be held responsible for ignoring the matter despite statements by its spokesperson Shireen Mazari. She said this was unacceptable and the results of PK-95 should be declared null and void by the ECP.
Echoing similar concerns, programme officer at Aurat Foundation Mumtaz Mughal said women constitute 52 percent of Pakistan’s overall population and their concerns should be addressed at the level of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the parliamentary committee for electoral reforms.
Mughal, on behalf of her organisation, has forwarded recommendations to the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms which include training of female polling agents in the voting process, education of women voters in CNIC card and voter registration, strict punishments for political parties involved in local pacts banning women from voting on election days, and affirmative measures increasing female voter turnout. Mughal noted that women were not allowed to vote due to similar agreements in Lower Dir in the 2013 elections.