LAHORE, July, 22: The Aurat Foundation on Friday launched “Citizen Campaign of Women’s Participation in Local Government Elections” to ensure women’s participation in forthcoming local bodies elections. Addressing a press conference here, executive director Ms Nigar Ahmad and national coordinator Salman Abid outlined goals and objectives of the campaign.

They said the campaign has been launched to generate greater acceptance among public about women as representatives and to ensure their mobilization at all levels.

The campaign would create environment for women to participate in the politics and decision making at the lowest tier of governance in the country.

They said the campaign would highlight the women’s issues pertaining to local government elections and would create awareness about them.

The major activities of the campaign include mobilization of women candidates, facilitation camps, candidate training, material development and media campaign.

Ms Nigar announced that during the first phase of local bodies elections, 141 facilitation camps were set up at 54 districts by the Aurat Foundation. These camps were set up outside sessions courts to help the candidates. In total 60,775 people have been facilitated at these camps where 12,889 women visited the camps and got required information about filling of nomination papers.

She said in 3,074 union councils of 54 districts, 16,626 Muslim women and 12,601 peasant/workers filed nomination papers. She said the foundation’s mobilization teams, with the help of lawyers, provided possible assistance to the candidates. Some problems were faced by the teams in the districts like Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab, and upper and lower Dir in the NWFP in mobilizing women for participation in election.

She said in these areas the local elders, political and religious parties stopped their women to file nomination papers in the name of local customs and traditions.