Seats for women

The absence of women’s voices in policymaking is not only unfortunate, but also has negative consequences. Women-specific policies made in rooms without even a woman in attendance do nothing to address the challenges women face in a patriarchal society like Pakistan’s. Given this context, it is highly commendable that the Election Commission of Pakistan has issued a notification ordering all political parties that have been allocated a symbol to contest the coming elections to submit a list of their candidates so that it can be ascertained that at least five per cent of general seats have been allocated to women. While this is a requirement under Section 206 of the Election Act of 2017, it is frequently ignored by parties. Selecting women members of the party on reserved seats only and ignoring them on general seats indirectly pushes women away from the political arena, depriving them of the chance to talk to their constituents and share their political ideas with them. Over the years, whenever women have had a chance to contest on general seats, a majority of them have shown that they have the potential to give a tough fight to their male counterparts. There are plenty of reasons for women’s lack of representation on general seats. Women politicians often have to face a lack of support from their political parties as well as other societal issues. In some cases, they are not allotted enough funds to carry out their campaigns.

Pakistan needs to be proud of all its women who have contested and won from general seats. There are women who have won seats from all parts of Punjab and Sindh as well as from relatively conservative areas like Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The ECP’s move to ensure parties fulfill their role in empowering women is a positive step. The PTI has nominated 20 women as candidates out of 204 candidates in total, fulfilling the requirement. However, the party has not been granted an election symbol and its candidates will now likely be forced to contest as independents. There are many issues to sort out regarding Election 2024. But the equal representation of women in parliament is crucial to the rights of women across the country. Even today, in some parts of the country, women will have to fight an uphill battle to even be allowed to cast their votes. We hope that the ECP’s order will motivate parties to ensure that there is no discrimination and women get a fair chance to contest elections. And measures should also be taken to ensure that women voters are able to enjoy their right to vote without any issues.