The Aurat Foundation (AF) organised a three-day National Training of Trainers (NToT) for 2023, titled Beyond the ballots: Enhancing women political participation to strengthen democratic culture, here at a local hotel.
Women activists from different political parties participated in the event where they were imparted training about leadership, women political participation, mapping of political situation, communicating as a leader, networking, alliance-building and culture of democracy.
The upcoming general election in the country present a crucial juncture for enhancing womens political participation, which has always been a focus area for the foundation. According to AF, women’s political participation had always been an uphill battle in Pakistan. General election in 2018 witnessed an increased focus on women’s political participation with higher female voter turnout in various parts of the country.
The Elections Act of 2017 mandated that returns from any constituency where women’s turnout was less than or equal to 10 per cent would be nullified. It also criminalised the practice of preventing a woman from voting in or contesting an election. Besides that, the Act required all political parties to list female candidates in at least five per cent of their non-reserved National and provincial assembly seats. The ECP promoted women-only polling stations with female staff to encourage voter turnout in more conservative parts of the country.
Despite an overall decrease in voter turnout, female voter turnout in 2018 is estimated at 23.26 million, an increase compared to 22.9 million in the 2013 general elections. Despite all these positive developments, women’s participation in the electoral process continues to face a significant gender gap.
Of the country’s nearly 106 million registered voters, 59.2 million are male and 46.7 million are female. Pakistan ranks last in the world for female turnout in elections, with nearly 20 per cent fewer women than men having voted in the previous national election, according to survey data.
