The excluded half

The country is bracing for general elections due on July 25, 2018, and the voters of different political parties are hopeful to see their supported candidates returning successful. The citizens not willing to vote for any political party will do that for independent candidates. Besides, there will be many who will simply refrain from voting and stay back home or spend time anywhere but the polling stations. This means they will not influence the results and stay out of a process which should ideally be participatory as it has a major role in shaping the future of the country. The public will be a mix of both, who are registered but not motivated enough to cast vote and the ones whose name are not there in the electoral roles.

All around the globe, the voice to involve every eligible segment of the society in the democratic process is getting louder. This includes registration as a voter, casting of vote for a candidate of choice, contesting as a candidate and so on. In Pakistan also, special efforts are being taken to make people realise that their vote is important and by not casting it, they are giving up their right to decide the country’s future. The focus is also on bringing the neglected and vulnerable sections - such as women - to the forefront and helping them play their role in this democratic process.

The women, who are close to 50 per cent of the country’s population, are not as active as men in this context and even if they are, they can hardly make decisions on their own. Most women in all the provinces are not encouraged to register as voters to cast their votes, let alone contest as candidates in elections. They have to generally face certain hurdles that deter them from entering this arena.

If we look at the statement issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), we come to know that around 10.3 million eligible women and girls in the country have not been registered as voters in the electoral rolls. As per Pakistan’s electoral rolls published by the ECP in October 2017, there are 12.17 million fewer women registered as voters as compared to men. It is the highest in Punjab, where 6.7 million fewer women are registered as voters as compared to men.

This week You! takes a look at the status of women in context of elections, the efforts and initiatives to enhance their role in the electoral process and suggestions on how to change the negative perceptions about women being voters and candidates in general elections mainly in Punjab province.

A major reason for exclusion of most women voters in rural areas is that they still do not feel the need for having a Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) which is pre-requisite to get registered as voters. A huge number of women acquired CNICs when they were required to have these to get cash grants under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) transferred to them in their bank accounts. Had this condition not been there, they would still have been without these cards. Another fact is that mostly the women do not cast their votes after assessing the election contestants in consideration of the qualification, skill, expertise and experience vitally required for people’s representation in policy/decision making forums. What they do is that they just cast vote following the family trends. It is very rare that they themselves contest the elections on general seats.

Arshid Mehmood Mirza, Executive Director, ‘Baidarie’ - an organisation working for women empowerment - points out the factors that limit the role of women in electoral process and how they can be helped out. His organisation has carried out ‘Women’s Political Empowerment Programme’ in Sialkot with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The case of Sialkot district can be taken here as a microcosm to explain the overall situation of Punjab because it has rural, urban, commercial and industrial areas within its geographical boundaries. In district Sialkot, it was estimated that 48,850 women living at 870 locations had neither been issued CNICs nor their names had been registered as voters.

Arshid informs that, “The findings during the initial interactions with the targeted communities were almost identical and also reflective of the situation in other parts of the country. This was despite the fact that Punjab is considered a progressive province. What followed was that the organisation trained volunteers who motivated men in 8,000 households at 40 locations to let the women be an active part of the mainstream electoral process. Also, to mobilise them and start mandatory initiatives such as getting CNICs, registering themselves as voters with ECP, casting their votes after evaluating the suitability of the contestants and their party manifestoes/programmes and in pursuance of their own liking and choosing, contest elections as candidates for general seats and become an active part of the mainstream electioneering process.”

Furthermore, women and girls having interest, potential and track record of performance were trained by ‘Baidarie’ to act as election/polling agents so that the process of voting may move forward smoothly without any malpractices. This helped in training local women as polling agents and reducing dependents on those coming from other areas to perform this function.

It is an established fact that many women are not aware of the importance of vote and the fact that their opinion matters a lot. In fact, they have been kept away from all this by men who have historically termed it inappropriate for women to take part in the public political campaigns. But this trend looks strange and out of place in modern age when women are playing their role in almost every field.

Arshid Mehmood Mirza also shares, “We even arranged theatrical performances at five prominent places in Sialkot to motivate men and women to vote. This tool was in addition to other advocacy measures and it invoked interest among the audience due to its interesting nature.”

A startling fact in this context is that even the turnout of women voters in NA-120 by-elections in Lahore, held on September 17, 2017, remained low. This was despite the fact that it was a matter of life and death for the party to win this election. The total number of registered voters in the NA-120 constituency was 321,786 of which 1,79,505 were male and 1,42,130 were female. The turnout of women voters remained as low as 32.30 per cent.

In the upcoming elections, it is expected that the number of women voters will depart from the previous benchmark of women voters’ turnout of 40 per cent in May 2013 to a level of 60 per cent. To ensure this, political parties, civil society organisations, women activists etc, plan to engage trained volunteers who will contact the women voters in their respective communities and persuade and facilitate them to come to the polling stations. This will use their right to vote in favour of the contestants of their own choice.

Safeguard against coercion

The election law outrightly rejects any steps that compromise the right of women voters to act independently, especially the implementation of an agreement restraining women from casting their votes. In such a case, the ECP can make a declaration accordingly and call upon the voters in the concerned polling station or stations or in the whole constituency as the case may be, to recast their votes in the manner provided for by-elections.

The law also states that if the turnout of women voters is less than 10 per cent of the total votes polled in a constituency, the ECP may presume the women voters have been restrained through an agreement from casting their votes; and may declare that polling at one or more polling stations or election in the whole constituency, void.

There are areas in Mianwali, Chakwal and Talagang districts where women have been barred by tribal elders and local leaders in the past from voting in elections under an agreement. Fauzia Viqar, Chairperson, Punjab Commission on Status of Women (PCSW), shares, “The commission takes notice when it receives any information about such agreements and contacts district administration to take steps to foil such attempts. I have visited different places in Punjab and met locals and persuaded them not to restrict women from voting in the upcoming local elections. It is yet to be seen how much this persuasion is effective.”

Mumtaz Mughal, Resident Director, Aurat Foundation (AF), appreciates the intention behind imposition of this condition but points out that it should have been applicable at polling station level instead of the whole constituency. Explaining her point, she adds, “It is quite possible that the overall votes cast in a constituency are well above 10 per cent whereas there is not a single vote cast at several polling stations. Result of every polling station where women voters’ turnout is less than 10 per cent shall be cancelled and voting held again.”

Nomination as candidates

It has been suggested in election laws that a political party shall encourage women to become its members. Besides, it has been made binding on political parties to give party tickets to women candidates on at least five per cent of the general seats on which they are fielding their candidates. The normal practice has been that women, who are generally relatives of powerful politicians, are inducted in the assembly on reserved seats whereas they are discouraged from contesting on general seats.

“This year, political parties have fielded women candidates on five per cent general seats which is good but more needs to be done to facilitate them,” says Mumtaz Mughal. The level of participation of women candidates is high and as per ECP figures 1,100 women filed nomination papers from Punjab province. “Political parties must field women in constituencies which are their strongholds and financially support them because they are not as rich as their counterparts. Security is also a concern for women candidates who cannot take the risk of going to distant places for campaigning after it is dark. This is the best time because it is hot during the day, so security cover shall be there as well,” Mumtaz concludes.