Women ‘lacked knowledge’ of polling process

Published May 31, 2015
Voters sit outside a polling station during Local Government Elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.    — INP
Voters sit outside a polling station during Local Government Elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. — INP

PESHAWAR: A number of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa women, who turned up at polling stations to exercise their right to vote during the local body elections on Saturday, seemed to lack knowledge of the polling process.

Ironically, ill-trained polling staff was no help.

In some parts of the province, most women didn’t step out due to conservative customs and even those, who came out, found ballot paper to be complicated.


In some parts of KP, conservative customs stopped women voters from stepping out


Some went home without casting vote due to mismanagement and violence.

Intrusion of men into the women’s polling stations too was a hurdle to the polling.

Talking to some women shortly after they cast vote revealed that they didn’t fill ballot paper properly as they’re not familiar with a ballot paper having many symbols.

The situation turned worst where there was no queue and polling staff was insufficient and ill-trained.

The polling at such polling stations was slow stressing out voters waiting for their turn under the sun.

A visit to some polling stations in Peshawar showed that ‘shuttlecock’ burqa-clad women, who looked exhausted in the hot weather, didn’t understand the ‘complicated’ ballot paper.

The problems of this nature were seen more in rural areas.

The worst kind of indiscipline was observed at the women’s polling stations, where women did not stand in queues.

There were concerns ahead of local body elections that women might not vote but they did come out though their turnout was not impressive.

Women rights groups, which had complained about the barring of women from voting, also kept a close watch on the situation and identified some areas, where women didn’t vote.

“In Urmar Payan area, women were turned away from polling stations. Women did not vote in Landi Bala, Hajiabad and many such localities,” said Qamar Naseem of NGO Blue Veins, which had sent observers to polling stations in urban and rural areas of Peshawar.

He said men were seen moving about freely in some women’s polling stations.

In Nasapa area, a woman was injured with a bullet created panic among women waiting for their turn to cast vote.

In Tehkaalbala area, a polling station didn’t open until 3pm.

Qamar Naseem said women did not vote in Bahadarkalay, Achar kallay, Landi Bala and Landi Payan areas due to verbal deals among local elders about not to allow women to cast vote.

The Aurat Foundation said the areas where women did not vote included Janikhel (Bannu), Rega, Tor Warsak, Pacha Kalay, seven polling stations of Malikpur (Buner), Pando Payan (Peshawar), Katlang (Mardan), Adinzai tehsil (Lower Dir), Khwazakhela, Islampura and Kuz Abakhel (Swat) and Marghuz, Dagai and Akhoon Kalay in Swabi.

It said after its regional and district teams stepped in, women did cast vote in areas like Heroshah (Malakand), Balu (Nowshera), Charma village, Gawliarai and Roringhar union councils (Swat), Ghari Usmanikhel and Dargai union councils (Malakand), where elders had already slapped a ‘ban’ on the women’s right to vote.

“In Janikhel area of Bannu, armed men stopped women from casting vote,” said an observer.

Saira Bano, who heads Shirkatgah in Peshawar, said combined polling stations for men and women in Mayar, Gosam, Khazana, Kotky and Tor Qila areas in Lower Dir district discouraged many women to step out for voting.

She said a small number of women voters turned up at polling stations.

Saira said neither women in such areas knew how to poll vote correctly nor did the polling staff facilitate them at polling stations.

Meanwhile, the information gathered from across the province revealed that the turnout of women voters was very low in some districts, while women did not vote in many parts of Upper and Lower Dir, and Battagram.

Women did not vote in Jandole, Bilambat, Munda, Talash, Khaal, Tor Mang and Shal Palam tehsils of Lower Dir.

The turnout of women voters was very low at Chakdarra and Gulabad.

Women didn’t cast vote at many polling stations in the highly-conservative Torghar district.

“I am not sure about the number of women polling stations, where polling has not taken place. However, the number may be less than 20 percent of the total polling stations,” said Tahir Hassan, the district election commissioner of Torghar.

He expressed ignorance when asked about the reported agreements either among candidates or between candidates and local communities about ‘ban’ on women voters.

In the far-flung Battagram district, too, women voters didn’t take part in the elections.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2015

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