ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Chairperson National Commission for the Status of Women (NCSW) Ms. Nilofar Bakhtiar held a meeting with gender expert group to discuss future roadmap for ensuring women political participation in the upcoming general elections.
The meeting was attended by eminent gender experts namely Mr. Naeem Mirza from Aurat Foundation, Ms. Anbreen Ajaib from Bedari and Ms. Sameena Nazir, President PODA who deliberated on ways to ensure maximum women political participation at both leadership positions and voter levels.
On the occasion, Ms. Nilofar Bakhtiar reiterated, “Women voters in Pakistan are constantly faced with the issues of voter registration and with the imminent elections, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and NADRA need to work together to ensure that women voters are provided with enabling environments to come out and vote.”
Another prime agenda of the meeting focused on increasing women’s political participation at the local and national levels.
The lack of women parliamentarians from Islamabad was also discussed at large.
The commission will soon forward recommendations to ECP and National Assembly, to expedite voter registration of women before the upcoming general elections and demanding an increase in national assembly seats in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Another agenda of the meeting was 33% representation of women at the local government levels, for which bills have been presented in the local assemblies.
The meeting ended with a resolve to chalk out recommendations for both ECP and NADRA and to provide support in all the ways possible.
