• All citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection before the law.

• There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex alone.

• Nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children.

Article 34 states that “steps shall be taken to ensure the full participation of women in all spheres of national life,” and Article 32 provides for local government institutions composed of elected representatives with special representation of peasants, workers and women.

The political, social and economic status of women in Pakistan remains one of the most challenging in the region, with persistent gender disparities. Pakistan has a population of approximately 143.5 million, women comprising 48%. It ranks low on the gender related human index, ranking 120 of 146 countries.  Approximately 70% of the female (and 45% of the male) population continues to be deprived of education. An estimated 50 mothers die each day from pregnancy, childbirth and abortion. The female labor force is estimated at 14 million, in a total of 49 million.  Almost 48 million people live below the poverty line, and more than  half of these are women/female.

Poverty is exacerbated by the low capacity of the poor in Pakistan, in stark contrast to the rich, to access public entitlements like political processes or goods and services which determine human development.

The low economic growth and development spending over recent years, coupled with a severe drought only partly explain the rising incidence of poverty. Poor governance is one of the key underlying causes of poverty in Pakistan that has resulted in inefficiencies in provision of social services, which has had serious implications for human development in the country. Taking note of this the PRSP emphasizes improving governance as one of its key strategies for pro poor growth.

In Pakistan the progress on mainstreaming gender has been slow. The PRSP has recognized the magnitude of existing gender disparities, the feminization of poverty and the lack of access to and control of women over resources and benefits. It mentions specific actions that need to be taken to address the low status of women economically and through improved governance. It specifically recognizes that gender responsive budgeting and gender disaggregated data are needed.

Pakistan is a signatory to CEDAW and therefore obliged to ensure social, economic and political gender equity and equality. Many of the rights stated in CEDAW are also enshrined in the Constitution in Pakistan. For women, the identification of problems is clear, and often the solutions are too, but substantive action on ground is lacking. At the same time customary practices and norms that deny women their basic rights remain unchallenged. This poses a constant risk to any effort to mainstream women, and especially so in the political arena.

Political Participation and Representation:
Women have had the right to vote and contest elections since 1947, when the country came into being. Yet the representation of women in the legislature as well as within political parties remained low. The 1973 Constitution reserved ten seats for women in the National Assembly (NA) and 5% in the Provincial Assembly’s for a period of two general elections. In 1984 the number of NA seats was doubled and one more election period was added. The provision was allowed to lapse in 1988. The reservation of 33% women’s seats at the local bodies in the year 2000 was thus a significant development that has made women’s political participation in local bodies a reality. This step will have far-reaching effects on women’s political participation, involvement in decision making and ‘visibility’ in Pakistan. Already, the provision has brought more than 36000 women into the local Union councils. The 33% reservation of women’s seats was a recommendation of the COIW 1997, and a long-standing demand of women and human rights activists. This was not matched at the provincial and national level, where the current level ofwomen’s representation in the Provincial and National Assembly, and in the Senate ranges from 21.8% to 17%.

Donor and Civil Society Initiatives
There have been several initiatives by MoWD and NGO’s with support from donors to mobilize women for effective participation in the pre-election and election process, and thereafter to build their capacity for effective representation. The CIDA-supported project with Aurat Foundation (AF) mobilized countless women across the country through district level advocacy groups to participate as candidates, and as voters during the pre-election phase.

A large number of NGO’s and smaller organizations are also involved in capacity building of councilors, both male and female. These include SAP-Pk, SPO, Shirkatgah, CESSD, Taraqee, IDSP, PILER, IRC, HRCP, Sarsabz, the RSP’s and the RSPN, etc etc. CIDA, The Asia Foundation (TAF), Department for International Development (DFID), Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD), European Commission (EC), Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have all supported different initiatives for women’s political participation and making government more gender responsive.  The ADB also has a comprehensive Gender Reform Action Plans (GRAPs) technical assistance program, aimed at translating GOP international and national commitments in respect of gender into practice through systemic and institutional changes at multiple levels.

Gender Equality in the Devolution Plan
The LGP 2000 provided women with a unique opportunity to participate in the political arena. The reservation of 33 % seats for women at each of the three tiers (district, tehsil and union council) meant that women were present at all levels of local government. There was also a reservation of 5% seats for workers/peasants and 5% for (religious) minorities.  Women could also contest for the general seats or any of the other reserved seats

It is at the Union Council that women have the most representation: members are elected by direct vote. The composition of the UC is as under:

• 6 general seats (of which 2 are reserved for women)

• 4 seats for workers/ peasants (of which two are reserved for women)

• Thus of the 10 seats, 4 are for women. These seats, if vacant and uncontested, cannot be given to men, and will be filled through bye-elections.

There are 3 more seats, bringing the membership of the UC to a total of 13: the Nazim, the naib nazim and one seat for minorities. In theory, these can also be women.

With the emergence of local government, mainstreaming gender requires a district focus. Currently no department at the district level deals specifically with women’s rights and development, beyond a very rudimentary charity-based welfare approach. The link between the district and the provincial WDD is almost non-existent. 

At district government, women are only mentioned in the area of responsibility of EDO health, or EDO  Education (for girl’s education). The LGP calls for the formation of different committees at each of the three tiers, and while there is no specific mention in the plan of women on the committees, in practice, women are members, particularly if the committee is on education, or  health. Women are also members of the Budget committee but are not effectively involved in the process.

Looking at governance structure – whether local or global – is useful as good governance policies (that has accessibility, accountability, transparency and efficiency as its four pillars), also ensures that Gender Equality is built upon.