The 2013 General Elections, as eventful and intense as they were, highlighted many facets in Pakistan’s political system. Not short on high drama, they shed light on flaws in the legal system, unjust polling and voting standards and not to mention the tumultuous aftermath. However, one factor overlooked and often disregarded is the lack of female participation in the 2013 elections. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, “over 95% of women voters in 17 national constituencies failed to cast their vote” (DAWN, Ifthikhar Khan). Moreover, the female voter turnout was less than 10% in 800 polling stations across the country (Qurutulain Fatima, Project Syndicate). Women gained the right to vote about a 100 years even ago, and the fact that even today women remain barred from exercising this right of theirs, exhibits a society still rooted in misogyny, failing to realize that without the contribution of more than half of the population, progress remains a mere dream.
According to the Voter Turnout Database, an authoritative global dataset providing data on elections conducted since 1945, Pakistan ranks last in the world on female participation in national elections. The basis of such disappointing results is majorly the huge, and at times unbridgeable, gender gap. 54.5 million male and 42.4 million female voters. The 12 million rift in between spells the gender gap in Pakistan. This is partly to blame on a majority of women, mostly in rural areas, not possessing an NIC, a voting necessity. Due to not having access to proper facilities or simply never having felt the need to possess one, many women are unable to produce NICs at the time of elections leading to their failure to vote. What’s even more disappointing is that religion and culture still form the grounds for many of the hindrances that women face when it comes to voting. Women lack the resources and have no mobility in rural areas. Moreover, astonishingly the narrative of women voting being “un-Islamic” still exists. When women do vote, they may be inclined to act according to the wishes of their male counterparts. As rural people make up nearly 66% of the country’s population, such demographics end up having a huge toll on nationwide results.
According to the Elections Act 2017, it is necessary for political parties to allocate at least 5 % of their tickets to women on general seats of national and provincial assemblies (DAWN, Amir Waseem). However, with a sparse number of women on board as candidates it is quite evident that most parties are merely trying to fulfill requirements.
When women fail to get adequate representation on national and political levels, or fail to vote, they risk having their voices and input neglected. The entire system of democracy is built upon the input of the people. When a significant portion of the population remains deprived of putting forth their input where does democracy then lie? With the 2018 General Elections being right around the corner now( a mere week away!), democracy demands for all females who have the ability and resources to vote, to not let this opportunity to slide and ensure that in the future gender equality prevails in the electoral system.