TIMERGARA, April 29: Women councillors in Dir are not allowed to attend meetings of the district, tehsil and union council meetings. Instead, their male relatives attend the sessions on their behalf.

Sources in Upper Dir told this correspondent that political leaders and nazims of the district, tehsil and union councils had barred the women councillors from attending meetings and other activities of their union councils.

They said that the local administration and government agencies were aware of the situation, but they had kept silent and failed to report the matter to higher authorities.

The elected representatives did not prevent the non-elected people, the male relatives of the women councillors, from entering the UC halls, signing the rolls and taking part in the sessions.

There are nine woman councillors in the Upper Dir District Council, six in the Upper Dir Tehsil Council and three in the Wari Tehsil Council.

Sources in the district government said that only two women councillors were attending the council sessions but the others kept away from the meetings.

In Lower Dir district, women councillors are not given any role in the district council’s working and planning.

“We were not allowed to take part in the council proceedings in the previous term”, said councillor Shad Begum, adding that they were called to the council meeting only for the election of district nazim.

During last year’s local government polls, a jirga had imposed ban on women’s filing nomination papers and contesting the elections. Later, local NGOs took the notice of the issue and launched a campaign to allow women to contest the polls and cast votes in the election.