ISLAMABAD: Shabnam Bibi, 34, has spent a decade trying to acquire a national identity card, a request that has been refused by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).

“Decades ago, when I was a child, my family moved from Sheikhupura to Islamabad,” the Hansa Colony resident told Dawn at a ground in G-8, where stakeholders including the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Nadra, public representatives and NGOs met on Monday.

“In 2001, I married Mushtaq Masih. I have the marriage certificate signed by Father Shamoon, who looks after the church in the colony, but Nadra is not ready to issue a CNIC to me,” she explained.

Up to 50,000 women could be missing from capital’s voter list due to lack of CNICs, registration

Her husband holds a CNIC, she added, but without a CNIC for herself Nadra has also refused to issue B-forms for her children.

“I am not considered a citizen even though I live in the capital. Without a CNIC, I cannot even vote,” she said.

In fact, many of the city’s residents face the exact same problem.

Miskeen Colony resident Wilson Masih, who works in sanitation at the Islamabad Model College for Boys F-8/3, told Dawn that while he has an identity card, his wife Fauzia does not. Just like Ms Shabnam, Nadra has also refused to issue B-forms for their son and daughter.

“I have a marriage certificate and the death certificates of my in-laws. I have contacted Nadra many times to issue a CNIC for my wife, but they have recommended I bring my wife’s uncle to Nadra.

“My wife’s uncle is in Karachi, and I do not know if he is alive or not, as we have not been in contacted for many years. I took my wife’s aunt to Nadra, but they refused to accept her as proof,” he said.

“I work in a government institution, but Nadra is not ready to accept my wife as a Pakistani citizen. I have been running from pillar to post, but no one is ready to listen to me,” Mr Masih said.

William Pervaiz, a representative of the Pattan Development Organisation, told event participants that up to 50,000 women could be missing from the capital’s voter list, either because they do not possess CNICs or because they could not be registered.

“In developed countries, people’s issues are addressed through interactions between people and institutions. So we have decided to gather all the stakeholders, so that common people can present their issues in front of the institutions,” he said.

“We have identified over 4,000 women in Islamabad who do not have CNICs and are trying to identify more. Unfortunately, a large number of men still do not want their wives and daughters to have CNICs, so we are also trying to give awareness to the masses about the importance of CNICs,” he said, adding that the ECP and Nadra had supported NGOs in this campaign.

Islamabad District Election Commissioner Touqeer Iqbal said there are 730,000 voters in Islamabad. He added that efforts are being made to fill the gap between female and male voters, which is around 50,000.

“We appointed 689 enumerators to do a door-to-door survey. 119 display centres have been established in Islamabad to facilitate people. Those who register themselves for CNICs by April 24 [will have] their names automatically registered in the voter list. However, no changes will be made after May 1,” he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Ali Nawaz Ali, the opposition leader in the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, said he was also working to raise awareness among people about registering to vote.

Women Councillors Network President Tayyaba Ibrahim said at the event that women councillors had played a vital role in registering voters. She said 500 identity cards were issued to women who had been trying to acquire them for years. In addition, she said, women councillors’ efforts got 40 out of 2,000 CNICs blocked in the city unblocked.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2018