KARACHI, Aug. 12: Country’s major political and religious parties who claim to have firm belief in gender equity and women’s role in development of society have not given real representation to women in their party ranks.
The government has increased reserved seats for women in National Assembly to ensure their maximum participation in country’s progress.
In Pakistan, women are 52 per cent of the total population, but for the first time in the history of the country, 33 per cent seats have been reserved for women.
According to statistics available, women never enjoyed more than five per cent representation in the National Assembly whereas women’s participation in legislative houses is more than 20 per cent in other democratic countries of the world.
Their participation in the central committees of political parties is not more than 20 per cent. There are some 70 political and religious parties in Pakistan but women’s representation in a majority of them is negligible.
Situation in religious parties is even worse, and except for Jamaat-i-Islami, all factions of Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam have no representation of women.
PPP, PML-N, PML-QA, MQM, Pakistan Awami Tehreek, Pakistan Millat Party and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf have similar organizational setups for women with office-bearers and workers from central to ward level.
Although, the MQM has a women’s wing, in the recently held intra-party elections a woman was elected among 25 members for central coordination committee of the party.
Although Awami National Party has no setup for women, Nasim Wali Khan has played a key role in the party at higher level.
Among the parties which have separate women wings, Millat Party is the only party in Pakistan which has ensured more then 30 per cent representation to women in its executive committee followed by PML-QA 20 per cent.
A leader of PML-QA women wing, Rahat Javed, when asked about the women role in national political parties, advised women to take an active part in politics.
According to available figures, PAT stands third among the parties projecting women as has been ensured in party’s supreme body while PML-N comes 4th by ensuring 8.10 per cent women’s participation in the party at higher level.
The PPP which claims to be a progressive party but it has reserved only 7.89 per cent representation in the central executive council of the party.
The ratio of women’s representation in the central committee of the PTI is only eight per cent while in MQM’s coordination committee ratio is six per cent. Ms Nasreen Jalil who had also been senator from the MQM is the only member in recently elected central coordination committee.
Ms Naseen Jaleel contended that frequent operations against the MQM did not allow party to activate women, but despite this a well-organized MQM’s women wing is working at all party levels.—PPI