Women, minorities have limited party roles

Few parties give either group representation in key areas

ISLAMABAD: Like the society at large where there are few public spaces for women, political parties of the country are also similarly restrictive for women.

During the session on ‘Women and Excluded Groups in Political Parties and Legislative Bodies’ at the Islamabad Literature Festival (ILF), speakers agreed that while there had been a marginal improvement and some token representation, women and minorities largely remain sidelined.



“Women and minorities commonly remain sidelined despite the token representation of these excluded communities in the central executive bodies of various political parties,” said Marvi Sirmed, an activist and columnist.

Presenting a detailed analysis of political parties, she said that women and minorities were hardly represented in key political forums such as the ticket awarding committees, manifesto making committees and think tanks in all the parties of the country.



The exception, Sirmed said, was the Awami National Party (ANP) which, while not having separate wings, ensures their inclusion in the party structure and decision-making process.

Talking about the Pakistan People’s Party, one of the largest parties and which had given the country its first female prime and foreign ministers, Sirmed said that there was a glass ceiling which did not allow women leaders to be at the helm.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2017.