There is strength in numbers. The statement holds particularly true when analysing the number of seats occupied by women in the National Assembly.

Of the 272 contested seats a mere eight were secured by women (three from the Nawaz league and five from the Pakistan Peoples Party.)

The number of women elected into the National Assembly drastically declined from 12.8 per cent in 2008 general elections to 3.75 per cent in 2013, according to a study conducted by the UN Women and Centre for Social Research.

The study titled ‘[Violence against women in politics][2]’ conducted in India, Nepal and Pakistan, shares some [unsettling findings][3] for a country that was the first among Muslim countries to elect a woman prime minister.

Dawn.com contacted women leaders from some of the main political parties for their response to the study.

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