Jasia Khan is graduate in English Literature from University of Sindh / a CSS aspirant
Introduction:
Women play a highly significant role in any state and if proper rights are provided to them, they can help a great deal in uplifting the state, by performing their duties potently. Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of England, has right said,“If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.”
Politics is one of the essences of a country and this essence becomes everlasting when both men and women work side by side.
The role of women in politics in Pakistan is massively vital however, their participation is not up to the mark because of the less opportunities provided to them. This is the core reason why Pakistan is still an underdeveloped state.
Women Representation in the Legislature of Pakistan:
At the initial stage after the independence, all the important public offices and political decisions were held by men and gradually, the masculine roots became stronger in the realm of Pakistani politics as women were left behind in the beginning.
For instance, in the first Constituent Assembly (1947) among 69 members, only 2 members were women. Incrementally, women, though in meager number, also started participating in politics, and in 8th National Assembly (1988-1990), 20 women were elected for the reserved seats and 4 on general seats, including Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed.
The constitutions of Pakistan also ensured the women representation in the legislative centers. Though the process was gradual, the women seats began to increase with the passage of time, for example, the Constitution of 1956 reserved “10 seats” for women in the unicameral legislature, the Constitution of 1962 also held 10 women seats, which later changed to 20 seats.
Empowerment Exploited: The Feminist Concussions by Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
The Constitution of 1973, also had 10 reserved seats for women, along with Article 17(2) that stated that every citizen has right to be the member of the Parliament, Article 34 encourages women to participate in national life.
The National Assembly witnessed the expanding amount of women participation as the time passed yet the Senate showed a strong dearth of female politicians. This statement can be justified by the instances like, in 1973 when bicameral system was introduced, Samia Usman Fateh was the only female senator, there was not a single woman senator elected from 1985 to 1988, Noor Jahan Panezai was the only woman senator in 1988, no woman senator was elected in 1991, in 1994, Fiza Junejo and Nasreen Jalil were two females elected as senators etc.
Women parliamentarians have actively contributed in the national affairs yet, their number is higher in the National Assembly than in Senate as the Upper House always seemed to be fully overpowered by the male politicians. Currently, 60 seats are reserved for women out of 342 seats in the Lower House (under Article 51) and in the Upper House, 17 women seats have been kept (under Article 59).
The Importance of Women in Politics:
Recent studies and research have unearthed the fact that women tend to excel men in leadership skills, high integrity, self-development, honesty and driving towards results. Currently, many of the female leaders of the state or the government are receiving adulations for their prudent steps towards further developments and positive alterations.
For example, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern is widely praised for her quick decision making in order to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic and Finland became the happiest country in the world under the government of Sanna Marin because of her public policies to ensure the beatitude of her citizens.
Instances are unlimited and they prove that if women are given equal opportunities to take part in the affairs of the state, they work effortlessly and aid in leading the country to the soaring heights. Pakistani women have undoubtedly contributed in politics as leaders but in a very few number which is quarter equal to that of men.
Those women deserve to be mentioned, like Fatima Jinnah, who worked tirelessly for the Pakistan movement, and also became the first woman leader of Opposition from 1960 to 1967, against Ayoub Khan. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, who has the honor of being the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan and in the whole Muslim world, in 1988 and again in 1993.
She also served as the leader of the Opposition party. Fehmida Mirza, 18th and the 1st woman Speaker of the Parliament in 2003. Sherry Rehman, who served as the 1st woman leader of the Opposition in Senate in 2018.
Currently , many of the women are the members of the Cabinet and working under different ministries, however, vital and controlling positions are still operated by men.
The Challenges That Pakistani Women Face
Pakistan is still an underdeveloped state because the gender disparity is evident. The educational rights of women are denied in most of the underprivileged areas. The lack of access to awareness of one’s rights and capabilities gives birth to social paralysis that stops the country from flourishing. Even in the progressive cities, women face discrimination, harassment, social restrictions etc. that limits their participation in many fields.
Activist and former MNA Mehnaz Rafi asserts,
“Unfortunate of Pakistani women that they did not get equal roles in the political life, even though the Quaid’s sister played a vital role in the struggle for this country”
(Kamrey,2020) Women are under-represented in decision making positions and low political representation, together with ingrained religious and cultural patriarchy cause abject conditions for Pakistani women.
Lopsided distribution of powers confine women’s contribution in the nation building. Political parties prefer men, rather than encouraging women to run the campaigns and then choose women indirectly from the reserved seats through gender quota that limits women’s participation (Hafiz, 2022).
Most of the women who have taken active part in politics is because they belong to strong political families, for instance, Fatima Jinnah herself was a dentist yet participated in politics because she was the sister of Quaid e Azam who had a long affiliation with it, Benazir Bhutto because of her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Maryam Nawaz due to her father Nawaz Sharif and many other examples.
Women Parliamentarians Caucus of Pakistan Marks Women Day with Completion of 10 Years of Existence
Those women who do not have any political background have rare chances to succeed, in the state where nepotism is predominated (Allauddin, 2020).
Another ineluctable challenge that stops women from having their political rights is the insufficient support of law enforcement agencies and foibles of execution in legal proceedings. Even if women are denied their rights, the government institutions fail to solve the issues effectively.
Pakistan took some serious steps the ensure women’s safety like Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance (2020), Domestic Violence Act, National Gender Policy Framework (2022). However, protection against violence remains unchanged and acts’ execution unmet. Social suppression of women due to gender disparity, feudalism, domestic violence etc. squelch the role of women, not only in politics but also other substantial fields.
Suggestions:
The challenges are innumerable however, there is always room for amelioration. Some of the suggestions are cited below that can help decrease the obstacles for women and encourage them to work side by side with men in nation building.
Vote has a gigantic power. Female voters must be given full opportunities to choose the political party that gives more representation to women and political parties must select women directly from the reserved seats.
The government must take actions to increase the female literacy rate so that they become politically well aware.The government ought to create more opportunities for women and encourage them to be economically independent.
The political parties must select those women with thorough analytical approach rather than those who are always defending their parties. Mehnaz Rafi says, “If we want meaningful participation of women in politics, the parties must nominate outspoken women rather than those chant their parties’ praises” (Hafiz, 2022)
Women’s Important Role in Politics – by – Samra Ather Kakakhel
