Not enough women poll candidates

Despite the highest number of poll candidates in the upcoming election, PTI continues to have low female participation

Despite boasting the highest number of poll candidates in the upcoming election, the PTI continues to have low female participation. This is also characteristic of other parties. While seemingly, women have become more aware and inclined towards politics, their inclusion in assemblies to influence change remains poor. There has emerged a need to appropriately involve women in politics so that they may advocate for certain rights and mobilise other women to have equal footing as men. The catalyst for this change should be a reevaluation of the Elections Act of 2017 provision to determine whether a five per cent minimum quota is beneficial or detrimental to the notion of democracy, taking into consideration the caveats that exist with women in today’s politics in the country.

The major caveat is that female politicians have come to be regarded as national celebrities rather than qualified and noteworthy candidates. This is because parties have a tendency to cyclically recruit women who come from influential families. Much like male candidates, the same names are recycled among political parties every election season. Candidates with political clout wander off to other parties that are willing to award them a highly coveted assembly ticket. Never mind the political platforms of the candidate or the party.

A quota for female candidacy may not be a viable strategy given that most parties award tickets to comply with the rules of the Act. This is a shoddy state of affairs and defies the basic tenet of a democracy, that candidates be elected by the people based on their perceived ability to perform while in office. To demonstrate against the viability of a minimum quota law, the PTI and the PML-N have disregarded the quota in some assemblies. Hence, successful participation of women in politics lies not in minimum quotas, but in changing the mindsets of male counterparts who dominate the political landscape and by continuing to foster female interest in politics.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2018.

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