No woman no cry: Daraban LG candidates endorse women’s disenfranchisement

Draft statement to this end to be used in legal proceedings

DI KHAN: An agreement by candidates contesting local government elections in Daraban tehsil, DI Khan to officialise the disenfranchisement of women as per tradition has been in the works.

According to local news reports, the document has been in the works since after the LG polls took place in May. The reports quoted the document as saying, “As per traditions of the local area, our women never cast a vote before, and will not do so now. We, in consensus, are not allowing women to cast votes.”



Other than the LG candidates, officials from Baaki Women polling Station No555 reportedly also signed the agreement.

The LG candidates who are said to have signed the agreement include candidates standing for the seat of peasant councillor Shah Jahan, Haji Gull and Muhammad Zarif as well as those standing for general councillor, namely Muhammad Jan, Muhammad Aslam, Ghullam Farid, Ghullam Shabir, Juma Khan, Habibullah; and candidate for youth councillor Shaukatullah. From the polling station, Presiding Officer Wahid Akbar, Assistant Presiding Officer (APO) Rubina Khurshid as well as APO Bushra Rashid, and polling officers Shabana Salim and Asia Jawed signed the statement.

The statement also contains signatures of FRP Police and other security personnel as witnesses, and it will be used as an official document in legal proceedings.

Women standing up

The DI Khan bench of Peshawar High Court suspended the local government (LG) elections of Kari Shah Muzai and Landa Sharif in Paroha tehsil, DI Khan. The decision was taken as women in both areas were reportedly not allowed to vote.

The bench comprising Justice Muhammad Dawood issued a notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the district returning officer and other officials. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for October 6.

The writ petition was filed by Wazira Bibi from Kari Shah Muzai and Zarina Bibi of Landa Sharif. They appealed that the LG election results be deemed null and void. A re-election needs to be conducted, the women added in their petition.

Daraban and Paroha are two out of the five tehsils of DI Khan, where tehsil governments have not been formed due to alleged rigging; cases to settle their fate remain pending in the DI Khan bench of the high court.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2015.