Speakers at a conference on Thursday resolved to ensure women's meaningful participation in democratic process as both voters and candidates in the 2018 general election. The National Conference on 'Women's Political Emancipation: The Future of Pakistan' was organised by Aurat Foundation and Oxfam with the support of the Australian government.
The conference brought together 150 participants which included senior policymakers, members of Parliament and judiciary, provincial ministers and grassroots level women leaders from across Pakistan. The participants deliberated upon ways to improve women's participation as candidates and voters in 2018 general election and put forth a set of action-oriented recommendations.
The conference is part of LISTEN-a four years project which was implemented from 2013 to 2017 - aimed at ensuring women's political empowerment and their inclusion in policy and decision-making processes. The project created a network of 1,200 women leaders in 30 districts across Pakistan. In his opening remarks at the conference, Oxfam Country Director Mohammad Qazilbash said that Oxfam believes in building women's leadership and ensuring their meaningful political participation so they are able to influence the decisions and policies that affect their lives.
"All women, including those who are poor and underprivileged, have a right to participate in politics. The 2018 elections represent an opportunity for us to ensure that all Pakistani women are able to exercise their right to choose their representatives and participate in the democratic process," he said.
Aurat Foundation Executive Director Naeem Ahmed Mirza called for federal legislation to ensure that women also get tickets for winnable general seats. "This will ensure women's meaningful participation in the electoral process," he said. He also demanded that a special parliamentary committee should be formed to ensure implementation of legislation on domestic violence and sexual harassment.
Discussing the importance of women's political participation in a democracy as half of the population, Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson noted that Australia's development partnership with Pakistan is supporting women's education and economic empowerment.
"The governments and civil society everywhere need to encourage and empower women to contribute to inclusive, social and economic development, and to promote security and world peace," said Adamson. In the opening session women members of Parliament from Pakistan Muslim Nawaz (Nawaz), Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) discussed electoral reforms which can ensure participation of women and youth in the electoral process.
Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly Syeda Shehla Raza narrated her struggles as a student activist and said that women face sexism at the highest level as politicians and activists. "But if we stand by the oaths we have taken, nothing can bring us down," she said.
She said that the criminalising early marriage in Sindh is a great achievement for the province and the women of Pakistan. Secretary Women's Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) Pakistan, Shaista Pervaiz Malik called upon women parliamentarians to stand together for women's collective interests. "There is a glass ceiling between women parliamentarians on reserved seats and those on general seats. We must hold hands and be role models," she maintained.
MNA Naeema Kishwar of JUI-F said that legislation for binding political parties to give 5 per cent general seat tickets to women will be passed after Ramazan. "In 2018 general election, the results will be computed according to gender so we will receive accurate data on women voters' turnout," she said.
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