polling booth, she said, half of our time is consumed convincing women to follow the rules. “Most of these women are not educated and their family members or party leaders never educate them on how to cast vote. Though we have pictorial posters outside every polling station but women fail to understand them as well. We try our best to guide them but sometimes it becomes difficult for us to control,” she said.
When contacted, a policewoman on duty said that if they try to control female voters by hand, voters make a scene that police are trying to stop them from casting vote. “It is the duty of political parties to educate their voters,” said Constable Humaira Khan, outside a polling station in Golra.
She said that there is only one female police constable on duty at every polling station because of low number of women in Islamabad police department. She said that one policewoman is made available after calling extra force from Punjab Police. “Man can only stand in the middle of the crowd and guide them verbally. We are not supposed to touch women even at the time of scuffle,” said a male constable, Barkhurdaar, on duty with Humaira Khan.
Like past elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan again failed to facilitate the disabled and elderly at the polling stations where major access issues for those who have to use wheelchair or have other health issues, were noted.
“I am a disabled person with one amputated leg and in this condition I had to climb 32 steps of stairs,” said Nasreen Shehla, who was taking rest and drinking water to collect her energy to reach the polling booth at a combined polling station in UC 24, Margalla Town.
“This is the third time that I had to sit and take rest since I have entered the gate of this school though there was a gate just next to the women's polling area and it had only 8 steps. The government should consider disabled, elderly and those with health issues while notifying the polling stations,” she suggested.
When asked about the voters’ facility, security person on duty, Constable Kazim Shah, said that they were allowed to open only one gate for voters due to security issues. “The wall of this school is very low in height and we have no choice but to open only one gate for the security of voters,” he said.
Some women did not like the idea of combined polling stations. “We had to be accompanied by our male family members due to the crowd outside. I was so uneasy crossing the area outside the polling station,” said a female voter at the Margalla Town polling station.