Kohistan By-Polls: Women barred from casting ballots
After depriving women voters of their constitutional right to cast their ballots, only male tribal voters participated in the by-polls held in the Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) assembly’s seat KP-61 Kohistan I here on Thursday.
Officials of the Election Commission, however, categorically denied reports of barring women from election booths. By-election polls were held on the seat that fell vacant after the death of Maulvi Obaidullah, who had passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest last month.
According to informed sources a jirga headed by Haji Kareem Khan, an elder of Kashw Khel tribe of Pattan, was held at his residence on the night of November 22nd.
The participants, including PPP’s MNA Mehboob Ullah Jan endorsed the decision of not allowing the women voters to turn up to the polling booths terming their participation as against tribal tradition.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 25th, 2011.
COMMENTS (8)
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Why have a constitution if any tribal jirga has the power to veto any portion it doesn't like?
Backward tribal tradition as usual guides Pakistan's regression...maybe they like to justify burying baby girls, shutting down girls' schools and honour killings while they're at it with their anti-woman prejudices because it's 'tribal tradition'...not surprisingly endorsed by our misogynist and 3rd rate politicians.
Shameful ignorant weak men. It's the 21st century, even conservative Wahhabi state Saudi Arabia is allowing their women to vote...so the religious excuse does not fly any more.
I just want to say that it is a tribel custom and nothing to do with islam
Some peoples have tendency to malign Islam after they accept it.They should have the courage to declare themselves as non Muslims The decision not to allow women vote was purely a trible custom and has nothing to do with Islam
@ Mirza, if you are Muslim and you follow the teachings of Islam, it does not matter what you think, especially, when your thinking is in direct clash with the teachings of Islam
I and PPP leaders like Mehboob Ullah Jan think this is a right step. We should respect local traditions and customs and PPP is the only party to do so.
According to Islamic law, women have half the right of a man in inheritance, as a witness and cannot even perform Hajj without any male family member. The tribal are right in their decision keeping with their religion and traditions. It is time Pakistanis should decide whether they want to keep these practices or make improvements. By condemning mullahs nothing would be solved we have to make basic changes in our thinking and bring equality in every sense of the word. BTW, I personally do not approve of treating any human being as half of a human.
A good decision in favor of women.. Atleast they would not be party to electing a brain dead stooge.