Women in politics

There is a need for urgent electoral reform, especially to ensure women’s participation in the electoral process

The need for urgent electoral reform, especially where it is concerned with ensuring women’s participation in the electoral process, has been highlighted repeatedly, especially after women in some parts of the country were illegally barred from voting during by-polls last year. The Peoples Representation (Amendment) Bill, introduced by Senator Sherry Rehman and discussed recently by the Senate Panel on Parliamentary Affairs, aims to ensure just that. It provides for an election in any constituency to be considered null and void if there is less than 10 per cent voter turnout for women. Additionally, it provides for any person found involved in any act that hinders women from voting to be charged with corrupt practices. It goes without saying that this Bill needs to be turned into law as soon as possible.

The inclusion of women in Pakistani politics has been a long-drawn struggle. The gender gap among voters worsened from the May 2013 general elections, to September, 2015, before the local government polls were to be held. In some of the more conservative parts of the country, political parties have been known to reach tacit agreements among themselves to prevent women from voting. This shows how dismissive they are of women’s inclusion in the electoral process. In fact, the recent case of harassment of women at a PTI rally highlights the long road ahead for women to enter the political space without feeling threatened. There is a clear need here for a change in mindsets. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari recently rightly condemned the way politicians often refer to women as “our women”, denoting them to be properties. This sense of presumed ownership displays the oppressive mindset of our male-dominated political class. For the 2013 polls, only 36 women were nominated by their parties for the 272 general seats of the National Assembly. As we move towards the 2018 elections, it is crucial that the oppressed half of the population is fully included in the democratic process and we see not only more women voting but also more women as elected representatives.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2016.

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