Obstacles to women’s participation IN pAKISTAN

Barriers to women’s political participation exist throughout the world. These obstacles reside
in prevailing social and economic regimes as well as in existing political structures. Social and
economic obstacles to women’s participation include the unequal distribution of resources,
lack of tradition and motivation to actively intervene in politics, the electorate’s lack of confidence
in women, economic and social criteria for political candidacy and exigencies of availability
that political activity demands.
1 Political Parties
So far, the increased participation of women within the political parties has not led to a significant
number of women appointees in important positions within the parties. In the absence of
regular elections within most of the political parties, leaders usually nominate party activists to
party positions within the party organizations.
Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), which claims to be a liberal party, has only
one female and 36 male member in its Central Executive Committee (PPPP, 2004). There are
five women in the history of Pakistan, namely Fatima Jinnah (PML), Benazir Bhutto (PPPP),
Nusrat Bhutto (PPP), Ginwa Bhutto (Shaheed Bhutto Group) and Nasim Wali Khan (ANP),
who have been the leaders of their respective political parties. However, all of them inherited
their political careers from their brother, husband or father and subsequently emerged as politicians
in their own right.
A Nazim is the co-ordinator of cities and towns in Pakistan. Nazim is the title of chief elected official of a local
government, such as a Distrct, Tehsil, Union Council or Village Council.The Chief Nazim is a District Nazim who
is elected by the Nazims of Union Councils, Union Councillors and Tehsil Nazims, who themselves are elected
directly by the votes of the local public.
A Naib Nazim is a deputy Nazim. Apart from assistance, Naib Nazim performs the duties of Nazim in his absence.
In Pakistan, all political parties have specified their women’s wings. However, the membership
of women’s wings is much smaller than the male membership of the party. These wings
do not have any visible influence on the decision making processes and political programmes
of their parties. In general, the parties mobilize women folk during elections to work as polling
agents in women’s booths, and demonstrate, on behalf of the party, when directed by the
party’s high command. Political parties tend to allocate the reserved seats to their family members.
This reflects the inadequacy of the commitments of political parties and the ineffectiveness
of any attempt to bring women into mainstream politics.
During the 2008 elections, there were far more women who applied for party tickets to contest
the elections than political parties were willing to grant. Many who were refused tickets by
their political parties decided to contest election as independents. However, all of them with
the exception of Robina Watto from Okara lost. This shows opposing trends in politics where
political parties continue to resist the granting of party tickets to female candidates whereas
women’s aspirations to become representatives within public domain are moving beyond constraints
(Bari: 2008).
Religious parties and tribal and feudal structures dismiss the electoral rights of women. During
the time of local bodies’ elections, religious parties in NWFP convened a meeting where an
election agreement was signed by the representatives of different parties to keep women away
from contesting the polls. In Swabi, Mardan and Dir districts, women were not just prevented
from filling their nomination paper but from even casting votes. In Malakand division, religious
leaders gathered to declare that the Nikah, Namaaz-I-Janaza and all other religious rites
of women candidates and voters would be boycotted (Mooraj, 2004). Some women councilors
in Dir have been stopped from performing their duties. It is even more appalling that the male
relatives of these women attend council sessions on their behalf (Dawn, 2006).
In the 2008 elections, the kind of change discussed above is refreshing. For the first time,
women in South Waziristan voted. True, there were other areas, both in FATA and in the NWFP,
where they were regrettably denied the ballot but against this backdrop, the decision of the
Tribal elders in South Waziristan and other places to allow women to vote was a welcome one.
This indicated that elders were willing to change by breaking with tradition and defying the
militants. (The News: 2008)
2 Quota system
The quota system aims to increase women’s representation to address the problem of underrepresentation
of women. Quotas have been viewed as one of the most effective affirmative
actions in increasing women’s political participation. It has a positive impact on the number
of women represented. The quota system has increased the seats of women in assemblies but
it is a temporary measure to achieve gender balance. It does not facilitate the real political
empowerment and the democratic participation of women. Women are treated as mere fillers
for statistics without real political and economic power. This system provides only symbolic
representation to women.
A certain quota of seats was especially reserved for women in Parliament since the 1946
elections. This tradition of reservation of seats for women continued to be required in the 1956,
1962 and 1973 Constitutions. Although the 1973 Constitution fixed reservation for women for
two more general elections or ten years, whichever came later, the provision was to expire.
This provision expired in the 1990 elections and has not been revised since. Despite commitments
by both the major political parties, the women’s reserved seats have not been restored
(Saiyid, 2001). Now General Pervez Musharaf Government has the credit of increasing women’s
reserved seats to sixty.Although women’s representation in the assemblies has increased quotas, they do not work
in isolation: they cannot be separated from dominant societal attitudes and norms. The socioeconomic
position of women in society means they are treated unequally by the men in the
assemblies and their views are not taken seriously. Due to the lack of actual participation of
women in politics, within political parties and towards a real knowledge of the political process,
these women look towards their male political masters for direction.
3 Cultural values
Traditional roles and tasks assumed by women at home and activities outside home are presented
as conflicting. The culturally accepted principle that women must first fulfill their responsibility
at home and to their families hinders their entry and progress in politics (CID, 2002).
Balancing family and career is a challenge to them. Generally society discourages women’s
activities outside the home, as it is harmful to their family life.
Women are perceived to have primary responsibility as wives and mothers. Hence, a political
career may well come in these cases as a second or third job (Matland, 2004). The stigma
of Politics as ‘dirty’ is somewhat connected to the previous notion.
Illiteracy is another problem. A gender gap exists in education. Primary school enrollment
for girls stands at 60% as compared to 84% for boys. The secondary school enrollment ratio
is even more discouraging: 32 and 46% for females and males, respectively. The adult female
literacy rate is 29%. This gap is directly linked to the lower status of women in society and certain
social norms that discourage empowerment of women as well as women’s participation in
the formal economic sector (Dawn, 2004).
The fact that women’s economic participation is undermined is not accounted for in the
national statistics. Culturally, women’s wage work is considered a threat to the male ego and
identity. Women enter the labor market on unequal terms vis-à-vis men and their occupational
choices are limited due to social and cultural constraints. They are considered inferior because
of women’s primary role as homemakers.
The agricultural sector employs 79% of female labor force as compared with 57.3% of male
workers. The majority of women in the urban sector work in low paying jobs. In the service
sector, 63.2% of female workers are employed. Among the Federal Government Civil Servants
43.3% are working in basic pay scale grade 9 and below, while not a single women is working
in grade 22, which is the highest basic pay scale in Pakistan (South Asian Media, 2006).
4 Lack of unity among women parliamentarians
In Pakistan, women have a marginalized role in the parliament. During the sessions of the Senate
in 2003-04, women senators raised only 201 (7%) out of a total of 2,769 questions. Similarly,
out of 335 resolutions, only 43 (12%) were moved by women senators, and out of total of
400 motions, only 26 (7%) motions were passed by them (PILDAT, 2004).
Female parliamentarians are not keen to take up women’s issues because of party politics.
We must consider the role of women parliamentarians who came on the reserved seats for
women. Gender quotas are argued on several grounds but the key argument for this affirmative
action measure often includes: (a) the fact that women constitute half of the world population,
therefore, it is simply an issue of justice to reflect their numerical strength in political institutions;
(b) women have a specific perspective on politics and political issues, therefore, their
presence will make a difference to politics and (c) they have special interests due to their reproductive
roles and subordinate position in society, therefore, they must be present in political
decision making bodies to represent and protect women’s interests (Bari, 2006).
The Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), when they were in power, twice, didnot move a bill repealing discriminatory laws against women on the pretext of lacking a two
third’s majority to annul or amend the law. PPPP in opposition today needs to project itself as a
liberal pro-women party (Bari 2004), so it supported the bill when moved by government.
Female members of parliament also failed to represent the interest of women and could
not effectively articulate the consensus built on the repeal of the Hudood Ordinance by the
women’s rights activists and human rights organizations over the last twenty-seven years in the
legislature. All of them were echoing their party positions. Women legislators of the Mutahhida
Majlas-e-Amal (MMA) were in the forefront in opposition to the bill. Their counterparts
in the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-i-Azam (PML-Q), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and
Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) also toed their party line to go along with the amendment.
Women parliamentarian who came on the reserved seats did not understand that they
were not accountable to their political parties alone but also to their constituency that was the
woman of the country. It was critically important for them to have voiced women’s interests to
justify their existence and presence in the national assembly. It is understood that as members
of political parties, the opinions of these women were subject to the discipline of their parties
and they were expected to support their party position on the issue (Bari, 2006).
5 Non-indigenous empowerment
In the post 9/11 scenario the transnational stakes in Afghanistan have resulted in strengthening
the progressive elements in Pakistan. The engenderment of Pakistan’s political system has
some links with international community stakes. Though there is evidence that a 33% quota
was planned in the National Action Plan (1996-2002) it was crystallized after 9/11. Progressive
elements imposed women’s quota without doing proper homework – educating the predominantly
conservative Pakistani society to absorb the change. Political representation has
not been granted because of socio-political imperatives and it is not effective in promoting the
cause of women. It is granted to them as a symbolic measure only. The reality is that the decision
has been taken to portray the society of Pakistan as progressive.
95% of women elected as councilors in local government lack literacy and awareness whose
main thrust to become a councilor is to get the amount allocated as monthly salary from Rs.
1000 to Rs. 5000. The general knowledge of councilors about their job is to serve the Nazim at
the district level (Jabeen: 2004).
The national elite, which comprises of the civil and military bureaucracy, rules over the political
institutions in Pakistan. More than half of the rule in Pakistan since its independence has
been managed by the military: Ayub era 1958-1969, Zia Era 1978-1988, Musharraf era 1999
till today. The decision to establish 33% quota is imposed from the elite’s in connection with
pressures from International financial Institutions, the Most Developed Countries and Multinational
Corporations of the world.
On October 18, 2007 Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed
exile to contest elections after a ‘deal’ with President Musharraf. President Musharraf himself
admitted in an interview that an American role cannot be denied in the initiation of dialogue
with Benazir Bhutto. Benazir Bhotto was assassinated during the election campaign on Decembr
27, 2007 by religious militants. Men will argue that she was assassinated for her politics
but the feminist perspective will necessarily see her death as a comment on the personal struggle
of women in politics and in public service. (Shehrbano: 2007)
Potential solution
Here the paper provides three-dimensional strategy for generative engenderment of the political
system of Pakistan.
1 Harness
The logic to harness women’s potential aims at seeking the truth through a method that relies
on an appreciation of the richness of human diversity and a desire for unity. Because it is based
on universal spiritual principles, it is adaptable to any culture. It is regarded that human diversity
is an asset. In decision-making, for instance, a diverse group, drawing on the wisdom,
knowledge, and experience of each person, can solve complex problems more effectively than
any single individual (BIC, 2000).
Women make decisions that are as good and as important as those made by men. In fact,
women may even make better decisions than men for the simple reason that they take more
factors into consideration in the contexts within which they make decisions (Nancy, 1992).
2 Harmonize
The second stage is to harmonize the change with the socio-political processes. Women have
to justify the social as well as new political roles vis-à-vis traditional roles. Here we need to
evaluate who is paying the cost for this change and who is benefiting. One may also feel that
women are treated as subjects of change more than as agents of change. In fact it is observed
that first they become subjects of change and then act as agents of change.
Political parties should also be amended so as to increase each party’s membership of women
to a minimum of 30% and representation in the central working committee to a minimum of
25% to ensure that women participate in the processes of decision making.
3 Homogenize
A feeling of cohesiveness should be created such that the status granted to women and reflected
back on society is not only beneficial to women but also to men. This is time to tell the nation
through media and research that women are paying more cost for their engagement in politics
in the process of national development and progress.
Conclusion
The review of trends in the field of women’s political empowerment shows a diverse progress
report from different parts of the world. There are numerous difficulties still to be resolved.
Targets set by UN for a 30% (which would eventually grow into 50%) participation has only
been achieved in few countries. Some progress has been achieved over the past few years, towards
enhancing women’s political representation, as well as in the realization that women’s
involvement in politics is an important pre-requisite for democracy. Women are still facing key
challenges.
The region of South Asia has had the largest number of female leaders but general trends do
not show similarity in political participation of women. South Asia has been slow in the political
empowerment of women.
In Pakistan, since independence, all regimes whether liberal, conservative or military have
treated women’s issues as political necessity only to project their regimes as liberal and modern
to the world. These regimes gave limited rights to women for a place in society and politics.
For instance, Ayub Khan introduced the Family Law Ordinance 1961, Zulfiqar Bhutto’s regime
fixed 10% quota for women in parliament, Benazir Bhutto’s government established Women’sStudy Centre, First Women’s Bank, and Women’s Police Station. General Pervez Musharaf’s
era allocated the 33% women seats in local government and 17% seats in parliament. None of
these regimes responded positively or responsibly to women’s issues. Women’s questions have
been used to strengthen their own political agenda and to secure political points.
Men support the case of women only when they think that the interests of men would be
served profoundly. Many women elected in parliament belong to politicians who have been
already in power in Pakistan previously. This trend may manipulate the process of change in
the interest of power regimes. The inaugural status of this quota may provide a base for future
strengthening of women’s status in Pakistan but we need to go from gender sensitivity to encompass
the dimensions of collective gender rights. Changes are o be brought from within if
they are to be sustained.
Women lack interest in politics because politics is projected as a ‘negative’ field. Women
do not have participation in formal political processes. Men consider themselves ‘traditional
custodians’ of political heritage and do not welcome women’s participation in important political
decisions. The immediate problems that women face include lack of political skill, financial
resources and the dubbing of politics as an all male arena. The ideal of increasing the level of
women’s representation and participation in decision-making bodies requires well-developed
strategies. It also seeks quality in women’s representation, opportunities for women in formal
education and training and scholarship grants to equip women to effectively participate in political
activities.
One of the most important signs of the modernization of society is connected to the role of
women in society. We cannot imagine a modern society without considering the status of women;
we cannot imagine such a society if women do not enjoy their social, political, cultural
and economic rights and if women have not achieved full dignity and social status. In relative
terms, the status of women has improved in contemporary Pakistani society with the passage
of time, but the ideal of women’s empowerment is still a distant dream.

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