Gender gap alert: 2024 Elections a wake-up call

Women’s political and electoral participation has always remained a concern in Pakistan. Their efforts continued to be undermined and under-represented due to socio-political, legal and administrative challenges. Despite substantial research demonstrating that the inclusion of women in all aspects of life is closely linked to economic progress and improved social indicators, Pakistan significantly lags behind in this area. The latest census reveals that women comprise nearly half of the population, narrowing the gap in numbers between men and women over the years. However, according to the 2023 Gender Gap Report, which explores gender parity across the dimensions of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment, Pakistan’s global ranking has plummeted to 142 out of 146 countries, leaving only Afghanistan, Chad, Iran and Algeria behind.

While the Elections Act 2017 introduced some measures to encourage women as candidates and voters, these measures largely served as cosmetic interventions that fell short of ensuring women’s genuine empowerment and participation in the political and electoral arenas. For instance, the law mandated political parties to allocate at least 5% of tickets to women candidates. However, even the largest three parties — PMLN, PPP and PTI — barely met this criterion during the last general elections. According to ECP’s website, PMLN fielded 676 candidates across Pakistan, with only 37 (5.47%) being women. Similarly, PPP nominated 685 candidates, of which 43 were women (6.28%), while PTI had 811 candidates, with only 42 women (5.18%).

Similarly, the voter turnout in GE-2018 revealed a 10-point difference between male and female voters. Although the Election Act introduced the provision of declaring elections null and void in a constituency with women’s turnout less than 10%, this threshold seemed to be met in all constituencies, except for NA-10 Shangla and NA 48 Tribal Area-IX, where the women’s turnouts were 9.87% and 9.94%, respectively. Nevertheless, rounding these figures also brings them within the required threshold. Placing a threshold as a legal provision has yielded limited results. It only encourages political parties to simply adhere to this principle mobilising a small number of women to exercise their right to vote. As Pakistan was progressing toward achieving an inclusive democracy through the electoral framework upgrade, why was this threshold for female voter turnout not increased to match the male turnout, and why was this threshold not addressed at the polling station level? These questions need to be considered by the upcoming legislature.

Women in leadership roles have excelled compared to their male counterparts, notwithstanding the criticism that women are elected on reserved seats without a constituency to represent, supposedly giving them more free time. In reality, some women representatives have introduced significant pieces of legislation and resolutions, and proactively oversaw the government actions by coining a greater number of questions or calling attention notices. There have been no deliberate attempts to highlight such successes or on such basis allocate leadership roles. On general seats, Pakistan has seen a declining trend in the number of women winning elections. Though, overall, 172 women candidates contested the last general elections, only 10 made it to the National Assembly.

With the next general elections slated for February 8, 2024, political parties need to encourage women as candidates and as voters. Given their considerable numbers in population, women have the potential to be significant game-changers in any constituency. Proactive and supportive actions are needed to encourage more women to contest general seats. In the long term, the Pakistani Parliament must deliberate on measures to ensure genuine participation and empowerment of women. The ECP also has a critical role to play by implementing measures to educate women voters, making polling stations accessible, conducting continuous monitoring and taking action against any barriers to women voting, especially in areas where female turnout has been consistently low.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2023.

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