Change in the air

First-time female voters outnumbered males in the voter registration campaign in Khyber agency

In a landmark move, women from Khyber Agency have registered their presence and interest in the 2018 election. First-time female voters outnumbered males in the voter registration campaign for polling in two National Assembly constituencies, according to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) data. In the Bara constituency (NA-45), there were a little over 20,000 more women than men who registered themselves as voters. Overall the NA constituency has 105,958 registered female voters against a total of 140,000 male voters.

Like Bara, Jamrud appears to be on the cusp of change. In the NA-44 constituency, it was the women who exceeded the male voters in the fresh registration campaign by nearly 3,000 voters. The number of first-time potential women voters currently stands at 31,871 against 29,000 odd male voters in the constituency.

The male-female gap seems to be closing in the agency and we applaud whomsoever that may have helped towards that effort. The ECP, of course, deserves most of the credit. Since 2016 it has been working hard to get more voters registered both male and female, laying down strict regulations for individual voter appearance and weeding out any attempts to suppress women from voting.

We see as clear a sign as any that eligible women in the tribal agencies are prepared to play their part in the society. Women have indeed shown the will to exercise their democratic right and take their place as stakeholders in the system. We wish them luck.

Still, ECP officials do not seem too pleased with the change in numbers. They reckon that tribal elders, politicians and civil society groups could have done much more to change the mindset of the people.  A sizeable number of people in the agency continue to be out of the registration process. With some more encouragement from their male counterparts as well as the local authorities, we could see in future a more equitable society that is both inclusive and healthy.  Such a change would also eventually help the people of the Fata region brace for the kind of expected changes that the Fata reforms will bring in future. We watch with interest.Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2018.

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