Only 6 of 150 women candidates win NA seats: Report

No female candidate won a National Assembly seat from Balochistan or K-P.


Our Correspondent May 16, 2013
Faryal Talur is one of the three women candidates who won a NA seat from Sindh. PHOTO: FILE.

ISLAMABAD: Of the 150 women candidates who filed nomination papers for the National Assembly general elections, only six were able to win their way to the lower house.

According to election results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan and processed by The Researchers -- a nonprofit organisation -- only three women candidates each from Punjab and Sindh won the elections on a general seat.

No women candidates succeeded in winning a National Assembly seat from Khyber-Pakthunkhwa and Balochistan, according to The Researchers.

The three successful women candidates from Punjab, Sumera Malik, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana and Saira Afzal Tarar, all belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) while the three winning candidates from Sindh - Faryal Talpur, Fehmida Mirza and Azra Afzal Peechu - were contesting on a ticket from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Only 60 of the 150 women candidates were running from a political party’s platform. ECP data examined by the The Researchers revealed.

 




























































National Assembly



2013


No  Province  Constituency  Name Party Votes
1 Punjab NA-69 Khushab I Ms. Sumaira Malik PML-N 118,108
2 NA-88 Jhang (Jhang Cum Chiniot) Ms. Ghulam Bibi Bharwana PML-N 87,002
3 NA-102 Hafizabad I Ms. Saira Afzal Tarar PML-N 93,013
4 Sindh NA-207 Larkana IV Ms. Faryal Talpur PPPP 83,916
5 NA-213 Nawabshah I Dr. Azra Afzal Peechu PPPP 111,667
6 NA-225 Badin II Dr. Fahmida Mirza PPPP 110,684

Source: The Researchers

For the provincial assemblies, only 10 of the 313 women who filed nomination papers from 213 constituencies will sit in the legislatures for the next five-year term.

Out of the 10 women, eight belong to Punjab while one candidate each is from Sindh and Balochistan.

No woman won a seat to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assembly in election 2013, according to ECP results processed by The Researchers.

All eight successful women candidates in the Punjab Assembly are from the PML-N.

The one woman on a general seat in the future Balochistan Assembly is also a PML-N ticket holder.

One PPP woman candidate, Saniya, won from PS-109 Karachi to be a part of the next Sindh Assembly.

Out of the 313 women candidates for provincial assemblies, 115 were party ticket holders while the remaining 198 were independents.

 

























































































Provincial Assemblies



2013


No  Province  Constituency  Name Party Votes
1 Punjab PP-34 Sargodha III Dr. Nadia Aziz PML-N 33,744
2 PP-53 Faisalabad III Ms. Iffat Miraj Awan PML-N 44,018
3 PP-78 Jhang II Ms. Rashida Yakoob PML-N 42,194
4 PP-88 Toba Tek Singh V Ms. Nazia Raheel PML-N 36,622
5 PP-101 Gujranwala XI Mohtarma Riaz Amanat Ali Virik PML-N 24,413
6 PP-116 Mandi -Bahuddin Ms. Hameeda Waheeduddin PML-N 52,712
7 PP-185 Okara I Samina Noor PML-N 26,621
8 PP-206 Multan III Ms. Naghma Mushtaq Lang PML-N 43,050
9 Sindh PS-109 Karachi XXI Ms. Saniya PPPP 53,926
10 Balochistan PB-26 Jaffarabad II Ms. Rahat Jamali PML-N 12,521

Source: The Researchers

COMMENTS (8)

CaptainJanjua | 11 years ago | Reply

In KP women didn't contest because of the security situation, otherwise I assure you they have more than their fair-share of respectable, educated and sophisticated women. I can name quite a few women in KPK who could win from their respective constituencies, but many have no interest in politics. Also, I should remind everyone that the first-ever elected female official in Pakistan was also from KPK; the renowned Begum Nasim Wali Khan who ran the NAP and later ANP also. The ANP and PPP this time gave tickets to many women to contest on regular seats in KPK - both provincial and national. In Balochistan, also, the security situation played a role in keeping women away from day-to-day politics. Finally those lauding the PML-N, PPP or whatever for putting up women candidates should focus on their stances rather than their gender. Granted, yes, work needs to be done in this regard throughout Pakistan but only in a manner that reflects our values; not the way they do it in Western countries.

Siddique Malik | 11 years ago | Reply

I am not surprised. Pakistan's backward areas don't even let women vote. How can they vote for a woman? Nonetheless, I am proud of the women form these areas who ran for election. Siddique Malik, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

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