Call for increasing women’s representation in assemblies

Roundtable on election reforms brings together women lawmakers for their input

KARACHI:

The Women Parliamentary Caucuses of the National Assembly and Sindh Assembly jointly hosted a roundtable on electoral reforms, aimed at promoting and strengthening women's participation and representation in Pakistan's politics. The event took place at the Committee Room of the Sindh Assembly building, with the valuable support of UN Women Pakistan and UNDP.

During her address, Rehana Laghari underscored the importance of amending election laws to empower women to contest elections on general seats. Dr Shahida Rahmani highlighted the primary objective of the roundtable, which was to formulate recommendations for reforms in election laws pertaining to women.

Similar meetings will be conducted in other assemblies across the country in collaboration with the Women Parliamentary Caucus of the National Assembly, with a special emphasis on encouraging women members to provide their valuable recommendations on election reforms.

Nafisa Shah shed light on the significant role played by women members in introducing legislative matters in the assemblies. She proposed an increase in the women's quota from 5% to 10% and suggested amending the law to raise the women's turnout from 10% to 20%. Sharmila Farooqui highlighted the inconvenience faced by voters when they have to search for their voting booths in different polling stations. Shahida Akhtar Ali emphasised the importance of registering women in rural and tribal areas with NADRA to ensure their eligibility for casting votes. Mangla Sharma called for an augmentation of minority seats and equal political representation for minorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2023.