March 18, 2004

The forthcoming local body by-elections in the NWFP may witness the majority of the reserved women’s seats remainingvacant as women will not be allowed to participate in the polls, reports Muqaddam Khan

We are living in a society where women enjoy very little liberty. In our social set up medieval customs are so strong that a woman can hardly break the shackles and if any one tries, it is perceived as scandalous. Chauvinism gives men discretionary powers that have interacted with traditional complexities for maintaining their dominant position and deprived women of their basic rights.

The present government has increased the participation of women in legislative assemblies and the local government to 33 per cent. There are 234 women parliamentarians in the Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies, whereas there are 36,191 women councillors in the country.

Despite these facts, in the forthcoming local bodies’ by-elections in the NWFP, scheduled to be held at the end of this month, analysts predict that the majority of the reserved women’s seats will remain vacant as women will not be allowed to participate in the polls.

In the local bodies’ elections of 2000-2001 also, the political parties, jirga members, and the contesting male candidates had through verbal utterances been able to stop women from taking part in the elections. As a result, the majority of seats remained vacant. In various districts those who filed their nomination papers were pressured to give up the contest as they were threatened of dire consequences.

In the upcoming elections the contest is on for 50 seats of union council nazims, 22 naib-nazims, and 2,849 councillors in the NWFP. Across the province there are 1,189 vacant seats of women general councillors and 767 reserved for peasant women councillors. There are 228 women’s reserved seats in Kohistan, 196 in Lower Dir, 186 in Mardan, 174 in Swabi, 130 in Peshawar, 100 in Upper Dir and 80 in Battagrame.

Why have women failed to participate in the elections and why were they deprived of their constitutional right to vote? Illiteracy is the main cause of their deprivation. How is it possible for uneducated and feeble women to fight for their rights? Only with education can women protect their dignity, honour and earn a respectable place in society.

After the local bodies election in 2001, NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah resented how women were deprived of their rights. In his address in a Swabi playground on March 21, 2001 he said that once women received education, no one would be able to disenfranchise them.

Another factor to consider is how women are considered inferior beings in this part of the country, and are forced to obey the men unconditionally.

It is also tragic how the political parties have adopted double standards. In Lower and Upper Dir the Jamat-i-Islami, PPP-P, PPP-Sherpao, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F), Awami National Party and Pakistan Muslim League (N) agreed to prohibit women from contesting elections on seats reserved for women or exercising their right of vote. Some of the religious parties constituted monitoring teams to prevent women from filing their nomination papers and those who filed their papers were pressured to withdraw their nominations.

Women’s rights activists demanded that the chief election commission take action against the political parties and the people who are involved in coercing women. The National Commission of Status of Women had asked President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, and the provincial election commission to conduct an inquiry in this regard.

Castigating the double standards of the political parties, the Election Commission said in a statement: “It is unfortunate that political parties which are a product of democracy have entered an agreement that women will not be allowed to contest.”

The Election Commission did not take any notice oft what had happened or what is expected to happen in the NWFP, and those who obstructed women from filing their nomination papers have been given no punishment. The Ministry of Women Development, women parliamentarians and women councillors have also remained silent.

When asked, some women councillors were of the opinion that if the government wanted more participation from women the best solution was to increase their share in development funds or pay them salaries like nazims and naib-nazims.

The 36,191 women councillors have confronted numerous hurdles but despite that they have played a pivotal role in development. Their access to decision-making process will encourage other women to come forward, and play their due role in nation building, and strengthen their own position. Despite their household activities they have participated in activities and programmes of the local government.

Women councillors have confronted the discriminatory approach of the male councillors who believe that women are not capable of handling delicate situations. Like men, women also have a sense of responsibility. They are focused on education, primary health care, child labour, dowry problems and women’s rights.

The devolution plan has paved the way for the participation of women in women related programmes, decision making and it provides them a platform from where their voices can be heard. It paves the way for change and with the passage of time the political environment could become more and more women friendly. In future they will be able to talk from a strong position about the status of women and issues related to them.

NGOs have launched a campaign in the 24 districts of NWFP to ensure participation of women in the elections. They have assisted female candidates in filing their nomination papers and taken steps for creating a conducive environment for their involvement in the elections.

By imparting training, various NGOs have enhanced women’s representation in the local bodies and assemblies. A number of women got justice due to NGOs’ assistance as qualified legal experts had been hired. The valuable aspect of their struggle was to bring into the limelight the social discrimination, domestic violence and other forms of mistreatment of women.

However, NGOs’ efforts also met a dead- end when they were accused of promoting western values that are not in accordance with Islam. Such propaganda has proved beneficial to the right-wing, as it has helped create mistrust of NGOs which argue that they are only working towards alleviating the plight of women.

The NGOs are striving to enable women to stand side by side with men in all fields, but the materialization of this dream could take a very long time. They have to take more practical steps for the empowerment of women, and making rhetorical statements neither motivates the women nor the government.

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