KARACHI, Dec 26: Women activists representing mainstream political parties of the country unanimously resolved to pull themselves above political affiliations for the joint cause of women uplift and empowerment.

Speaking at a seminar on `Women Office-Bearers of Political Parties in Policy Making -- Myth and Reality,’ they registered strong support for all women-friendly legislations.

Salma Ahmed (Pakistan Muslim League — Functional), Fariha Razzakh Haroon and Nafisa Raja (Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians); and Seemien Malik and Sorath Theebo (Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz) also underscored the need for active and meaningful involvement of women within the political parties.

It was registered with concern that political parties do not have significant representation of women workers in their respective executive councils.

Seemien Malik, Vice President, PML-N, presenting a break-up of this representation and said that a 29-member Executive Council of ruling PML had only three women members; of the 23-member PML-N's Executive Council there was only one woman; the 18-member body of the MQM had two women; 39-member body of the JUI had no woman; the People Party Parliamentarians had two women in its executive council and four in its Federal Council.

The speakers acknowledged the fact that Pakistan has emerged to be one of the very few countries where women were given significant representation on decision-making bodies.

Women in India, the largest democracy, can still be witnessed struggling for 33 per cent women representation through reserved women seat in parliament, they observed.

“The presence of 72 women in the National Assembly has provided us an opportunity to help improve the women status in its truest sense,” Salma Ahmed said.

It was strongly recommended that in the next national polls all political parties must nominate, against reserved as well as general seats, only those women who hold strong record of service to the community and women.

Each of the speaker highlighted the procedure adopted by their respective parties to engender opinion of the party workers, right from grass-roots levels to middle echelon and the top level, ultimately paving the way for collective decision.

MPA Fariha Razzakh adding to the presentations by other speakers agreed that economic empowerment was pre-requisite for meaningful involvement of women in the political process and decision-making exercise.

The PPP President of the Women Wing, Karachi, Nafisa Raja, underlined the importance of education for women which she termed was a tool to wage a struggle against social evils hampering development at all levels - but most severely affecting women. —APP