ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: Representatives of women wings from five major political parties have agreed to work together to strengthen their units and institutionalise positions for women in their parties’ decision-making bodies.

Attending an advisory committee meeting convened by the National Democratic Institute to discuss ways to enhance women’s participation in political parties, senior leaders from women’s wings including MNAs and MPAs pledged that they would work together to develop a national action plan for minimum standards to strengthen and institutionalise women’s role in political parties.

Members of the advisory committee included, from the PPP, MNA Shagufta Jumani, provincial president of Sindh women’s wing and minister of state for religious affairs, and MPA Azma Zahid Bukhari; from PML-N, MNA Nuzhat Amir Sadiq, president of women’s wing Islamabad and MNA Anusha Rahman Khan, vice-president of lawyers wing; from PML-Q MNA Nosheen Saeed Khan and Senator Rehana Yahya Baloch; from Awami National Party MNA Jamila Gillani, central joint secretary and MPA Shagufta Malik, provincial vice president; and from MQM Asma Sherwani, member central women’s council and MNA Shagufta Sadiq, member women’s central council.

The advisory committee members were optimistic about the fact that Pakistan’s transition to democratic rule had offered women various opportunities in government and in their parties. Yet they shared concerns that women still face some obstacles to full participation and advancement in their parties. Some of the barriers they identified include lack of institutionalised representation of women on policy-making bodies of the parties, lack of transparent mechanisms for merit-based nomination of women for general and reserved seats, incomplete structures of women’s wings at different levels, lack of autonomy and resources for women’s wings to conduct activities and lack of training and political education for women.

Citing some of their achievements to strengthen their parties, such as voter registration campaigns, to sign up female party supporters, work on election campaigns, organisation of public rallies and advocacy for policies to protect women from domestic and other violence, they agreed that it was time to join hands to advocate for measures that would ensure women’s representation in their parties.

They agreed to work within their own parties and together with women from other parties to develop a national action plan that will include minimum standards for women’s participation in political parties and strategies to implement them. The plan will be developed at a national workshop to be arranged by NDI with the assistance of the advisory committee. Women’s wing representatives from different parties from all over the country will participate in the workshop.

NDI country director Sheila Fruman acknowledged the many positive changes that political parties have made to enhance women’s participation, adding it was in their interest to continue to support women activists at all levels because more than half the voting population were women.