ISLAMABAD, Aug 15: Women candidates for the forthcoming local bodies elections from different districts on Monday complained of coercion by their male opponents and use of state machinery to manipulate public opinion in favour of candidates aligned with the ruling party.

Speaking at a press briefing, arranged by Pattan, the candidates accused the government of double speak, saying the government on one hand boasts of giving representation to women, while on the other hand was not ready to give a level-playing field to those who dared to challenge the men.

The women contestants said in contrast to the perception that the local bodies polls were partyless, the political parties, especially the ruling PML, were very much involved in the campaign and the code of conduct announced by the Election Commission was being blatantly violated.

Some of the women aspiring for the slots of Lahore union council nazims said the candidates of the ruling PML were making their electorate believe that by the virtue of being candidates from the platform of the ruling party they stood elected as their victory would in any case be ensured.

The opposition of the women candidates in their constituencies stems from the thinking that these new entrants were encroaching upon the traditional power-turf of the men.

A mix of social, political and family pressures was being exerted to bully women candidates into allegiance to patriarchal values and norms, Farzana Bari of Pattan said, and added use of abusive and provocative language against women contestants was widespread. But, these women were adamant to contesting and were already proving formidable challengers to male-dominated political sphere.

Individually speaking about the problems being confronted by them, Robina Jafferi from Jhang said the biggest obstacle faced by her was finding a running mate for the office of naib nazim as men considered it as their insult to be playing second fiddle to a woman.

But, having failed to stop her from running for the office of nazim, her opponents, she said, had now started threatening her and her supporters.

Gulnaz Qasim, who claims to be having the only complete 13- member women panel in the country, said it was the psyche of the men that they did not tolerate women. Ms Qasim is contesting from a Faisalabad constituency.

She complained that her opponents were using coercive tactics against the voters and pressurizing the families of the candidates from her panel.

Azra Nasim, another Faisalabad candidate for a union council, said the male opponents after failing to find any convincing argument to oppose her candidature had started telling the electorate that an elected woman would not be able to help them out in police stations and courts.