The recently held elections had some unique dynamics as women from different walks of life actively participated in the process. These elections also demonstrated how women claimed their space in the house as well. You! takes a look … The recently held elections had some unique dynamics as women from different walks of life actively participated in the process. These elections also demonstrated how women claimed their space in the house as well. You! takes a look …
I will not forget the old lady at the polling station, supported on both sides, walking slowly, one step at a time, moving towards the polling booth. I walked behind her for a few moments, in respect. As I moved ahead and reached the stairs, I saw another elderly couple moving with the help of walking sticks. These women were not deterred by their old age or mobility challenges; nothing could dampen their spirit to vote and to exercise their right to choose their representatives in Pakistan’s General Elections 2024. You! takes a look at these elections through women’s eyes.
In the area where I voted (NA-128), I witnessed young and old, mothers and daughters, enthusiastically participating in the voting process. I went early in the morning and it took me hardly ten minutes to go through the process. The polling station was set inside a government school that could be reached via stairs. It was a thought-provoking moment that the polling area is not easily accessible to people with mobility challenges. The Election Commission of Pakistan must take steps to ensure accessibility for all voters, including elderly and differently-abled. In this polling station, the voter turnout for women was very encouraging, reported as 56 per cent according to ECP data. Overall, however, there is still a long way to go to bridge the gender gap.
Approximately 60 million voters went to the polls on February 8th, 2024, and while the overall voter turnout was below 50 per cent, 6 million more people voted compared to the previous 2018 elections due to an increased number of new registered voters. FAFEN (Free and Fair Election Network) preliminary report notes that while the overall gender gap on the voter rolls reduced between male and female voters from 12.4 million in 2018 to 9.9 million in 2024, however, their turnout slipped to 43 per cent as compared to 52 per cent male turnout. This means that a significant proportion of eligible female voters did not vote. There were multiple reasons for this, including fear of violence and some operational reasons as well as the fact that we are a patriarchal society where majority of our women are dependent on men for mobility.
Despite these challenges, there were displays of courage by different women to perform this civic duty and exercise their choice. I found one photo especially striking - published in the Financial Times where a woman was photographed at a polling station in Lahore, holding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s flag, surrounded by police. Her smiling image represented inherent strength and belief in the power of vote.
These elections had some unique dynamics and it would be unfair to ignore the impact on women voters and legislatures. Women from different walks of life actively participated in the process and from a doctor to a home-maker reported confusion as a result of the absence of a unified electoral symbol for the party of their choice. We cannot disregard the backdrop in which these elections took place that involved suppression of one political party with arrests of women leaders and party-workers to the absence of one unified electoral symbol. All these converged to affect women’s right to exercise their choice plus it had an impact on getting reserved seats for women for one political party. One woman shared that she remembered PTI-backed candidate’s symbol for national assembly and stamped the same symbol for provincial assembly (which belonged to someone other than her choice.) This was only one experience shared with me that reflects potential distortion in the results due to this confusion. It should be ECP’s responsibility to ensure that each vote truly reflects the choice of the voter. It is also concerning that a large number of votes is/are rejected in our elections almost every time and approximately 2 million votes were excluded from the count across the National Assembly seats this time. This highlights the need to educate voters about the voting process and we ought to discuss how best to improve our electoral process so that each vote is counted and it reflects the choice of voters as best as possible.
Bushra is a single mother of two little girls who is employed in Lahore. Her vote was registered against her permanent address in Jhelum, a four-hour bus ride. On the day of the elections, she found out that the internet and mobile network were not working. This meant that she could not hail a ride-sharing cab and had to request her neighbour to drop her off at the bus terminal. Then she realised that the details she had received earlier on 8300 did not mention her polling station and she was unable to find it again using SMS. She had to go to different polling stations to find out which one was assigned to her. When she reached eventually, it was afternoon and there was a long queue at the polling station. A woman even passed out and she helped with providing first-aid to revive her. Doors were closed intermittently to manage the crowd. After two hours, she managed to cast her vote finally. I asked her what kept her going and she said, “Because voting is the only concrete way to make a difference and have a say in our government system.”
Beyond women’s role as voters, these elections also demonstrated how women claimed their space in the house as well, as highlighted in an editorial in this paper. At least eight women got over 0.1 million votes and PTI-backed independent candidate Aniqa Mehdi became the only woman to secure over 0.2 million votes. Moreover, at least 12 women defeated their male rivals for the National Assembly seats. In a first, Pakistan People’s Party backed candidate Dr Saveera Prakash became Pakistan’s first Hindu woman to run in the provincial elections from Buner, KP.
Why is participation of women as part of the legislature important? Women bring a unique perspective to the table, which takes into account women and children welfare angle in policy-making, especially economic empowerment and rights issues. It is imperative for building inclusive societies. In these elections, more women than ever before contested in the national and provincial assemblies. This is an encouraging trend where women are being recognised as equal stakeholders in our political space.
I spoke to Saman, a TV reporter and a multimedia producer about her election experience. “My voting experience went well. I’ve been casting vote since 2008 and based on my experience, I knew that morning is the best time to vote when you can avoid long queues. My polling station was inside a medical college and it was well-managed. I took voter information slip from a political party’s camp and many people don’t know but you don’t need to be a supporter to get this slip from any camp where it’s not crowded. 8300 ECP helpline stopped working due to internet disruption and I had to face inconvenience because of this. I realised on voting day that the message I had received earlier from ECP did not include my polling station details. Eventually, I visited the same place which is usually assigned as my polling station and it happened to be the same one. It is an important duty to cast your vote and all eligible people should go out and vote. As a reporter, it is part of my job to visit different polling stations. To other journalists, I would suggest that you start work early morning from near your polling station and cast vote or take out time in the middle to vote. Don’t let your duty to miss out on voting. My station was NA-121 where I witnessed a large number of women voters, especially, young independent women. Despite some concerns that people would perceive elections as pre-decided and won’t come out, it was encouraging to see women not giving up on the democratic system. I saw women standing on the road in long queues, determined to cast their votes. It was a sense of responsibility that compelled me to vote, and perhaps, for them as well.”
Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress…
Despite some encouraging trends, as FAFEN report shows, increased women voter registration did not translate into increased women turnout. The state and the civil society need to work towards reducing this gender gap. In a research study co-authored by Mr Ali Cheema, Vice Chancellor of LUMS, closing the gender gap and interventions aimed at increasing women’s participation in Pakistan’s politics requires engagement of men. The study concludes that targeting men along with women is necessary to achieve maximum increase in women’s turnout. In our patriarchal society, men are still ‘gatekeepers’.
The test of our women’s resilience was not limited to pre-polling period or even the act of polling itself but women wanted their votes to be respected as well. In the backdrop of post-election rigging allegations in select constituencies, women came out to protest in different cities. Liberty chowk in Lahore once again witnessed visuals of women protestors being dragged and manhandled. Despite the atmosphere of fear around these elections, women’s active participation in the political space is commendable. Our state and political parties should encourage it instead of using fear tactics to suppress their voices.
March 8th is marked as International Women’s Day, an opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements, their resilience, and the need to accelerate gender equality in all walks of life, including in politics. The theme selected by the United Nations this year is ‘Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress’. It aims to highlight the need for gender responsive budgeting and acknowledging unique needs of women. Organisations and states should invest in gender equality measures, which is key to a healthy and prosperous Pakistan.
The writer is a LUMS alumna and a community social worker with special interest in public health, philosophy, and human rights. She can be reached at mariamk27@hotmail.com. Her X handle is @mariamibkhan
