‘Over two million women without identity documents’

Islamabad: Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA), a non-profit organisation released a data which revealed that over two million women have no identity documents in the country.

According to available data, close to 2.6 million women in Pakistan’s north western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa does not possess National Identity Card (NIC). It said that their ability to play a role in political, social and economic progress is restricted and they are unable to take advantage of public social safety, education and health services.

An identity card allows citizens in Pakistan to vote, seek membership of political parties, gain access to government welfare schemes and services including hospitals, education, and banks. Women, who do not have identity documents, are deprived of participating in public life and becoming full citizens of the country.

According to TDEA, of the 2.6 million disenfranchisedwomen, 100,000 are from Swabi. More than 100,000 women are still disenfranchised in Swabi as they don’t have a CNIC and their votes have not been registered, it added.

When contacted official sources they said that National Identity Card (NIC) is issued to the citizens of Pakistan. It is a blend of state-of-the-art technology and well-defined business rules to guarantee its authenticity and validity.

They said that every citizen of Pakistan, 18 years and above, is eligible for CNIC with unique 13 digit identification number which is recognized all over the country. They said that NIC is the first requirement of individuals as it is mandatory to obtain documents like license, NTN, bank account, passport, cellular connection etc.

They said any eligible Pakistani can apply for NIC by either visiting nearest NADRA Registration Centre (NRC) or through Pak Identity website. He said that people should avail the opportunity to get their CNIC through Nadra mobile van service.

He said that NADRA has also been active in KP to fully help the eligible citizens particularly women to get their NIC. He added at Union Council level, NADRA has established 669 new Civil Registration and Management System (CRMS) sites (total of 7893 sites) for computerization of birth, death, marriage and divorce records.