Women barred from contesting local polls

Jirga leaves little space for women candidates in local government polls in parts of NWFP

By Behroz Khan

Hisba Act, absence of chief minister from National Security Council...and now a jirga ban on participation of women in the upcoming local government polls in some parts of the province. The NWFP has this ceaseless ability to throw up controversies.

The ban has not been imposed by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government, but its silence on the issue has made its position doubtful. Critics say that by not opposing this move in Dir Upper and Lower, Battagram and Kohistan, the provincial government has condoned this ban.

The ban was first imposed in Dir Lower, and with the government keeping mum on it, it was fast replicated in Dir Upper and Battagram and Kohistan. The original ban announced by a Jamaat-i-Islami leader and ex-naib nazim of Lower Dir, Haji Muhammad Rasul Khan, was accepted as reflective of the mindset of the political and religious parties in the province.

But following the condemnation of the ban on different fora, political parties started dissociating themselves one by one from the jirga decision. Even Rasul Khan could not give a proper response when asked to explain his point. He went on to say that there was no harm in allowing women to be part of the district council, but their participation at the union council level could not be allowed by the jirga.

Interestingly, the jirga decision proved to be far more effective in areas like Battagram than Dir Lower where it originated. One of the reasons for this was the participation of MMA's sitting and former parliamentarians in a concerted campaign to bar women from taking part in the elections. Here the meeting of the jirga was attended by Qari Muhammad Yousaf, an MNA from JUI-F, Al-Haaj Muhammad Ayaz Khan, provincial minister in the NWFP government and a number of former parliamentarians, nazims and public representatives. The meeting held at the district bar room even warned of strict action against those daring to violate the decision of the 'all-male' jirga.

Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians, Awami National Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Q played their role in highlighting the jirga's anti-women bias. But their response varied from area to area, depending upon the administrative setup in place there. While in Dir Lower, these parties defied the jirga decision by fielding female candidates on seats reserved for them, no such move was seen in Battagram and Kohistan.

Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar responded to the move strongly. He said keeping women out of local government polls was a 'crime' and that results of constituencies where women were barred from contesting election would be withheld.

The Election Commission had done nothing when, during the last general election, a similar ban was imposed on women in Dir Upper and Dir Lower -- areas where women are not only barred from contesting the polls, they have not even been registered as voters in the name of tribal customs and traditions. Same is the case in some other parts of the Tribal Area.

The turnout of female voters in the urban centres has been encouraging. But here, too, female candidates hardly get a chance to reach out to the masses. In a large number of cases they are elected unopposed, as a result of adjustments made by male decision-makers.

The incidence of male candidates returning unopposed on a jirga endorsement has also been high. For example, a former MPA from Kohistan, Malik Mian Noor, was elected by the toss of a coin at jirga's instance.

Islamabad felt that the situation needed to be defused and sent Nilofar Bakhtiar, Adviser to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Women's Issues, over to Dir and Battagram districts. The emissary succeeded in rallying party workers and even leaders from other political parties to encourage women to file nomination papers. She accompanied several female candidates to district government offices to file nomination papers -- which was seen as a 'big victory', even if a momentary one. However, the contesting women, the locals say, would be under tremendous pressure. In all likelihood, many among them will withdraw from the contest. Those who will stay in the race against odds, will be faced with the daunting task of bringing their voters to the polling stations and appointing polling agents.

The image of Zubaida Begum, an NGO worker killed in Upper Dir, looms large over the horizon, in stark contrast to that of men who are still out on the prowl. In the recent past, many other activists have fallen foul of the elements who must cling to the discriminatory customs, come what may. All these activists wanted was to raise public awareness against taboos. Such as not allowing women to take part in politics, not allowing them a say.