SARMAD MAHMUD

SIALKOT: Pakistan’s electoral rolls published by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in October 2017 indicate that there are 12.17 million fewer women registered as voters as compared to men. Of a total of 97.02 million citizens registered as voters, 54.59 million are men (56.27%) and 42.42 million are women (43.72%). Although 4.86 million women have been added to the electoral rolls between May 2013 and October 2017, even then the male-female voter gap has not reduced.

The male-female gap in voters as of October 2017 is highest in Punjab, where 6.7 million fewer women are registered as voters as compared to men. This is followed by a gap of 2.2 million women in Sindh, 1.9 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 0.57 million in Balochistan, 0.52 million in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and 52,446 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). Possession of a National Identity Card (NIC) is a pre-requisite for registering as a voter. Almost all women who are not registered as voters do not possess NICs.

Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability Islamabad with the technical support provided by Election Commission of Pakistan and funding provided by UNDP has initiated a nation-wide move to reduce the male-female voter deficit by reaching out to areas where women do not tend to register their NIC. In Sialkot District, Baidarie has been assigned with the task of facilitating issuance of CNICs to women and getting their names registered as voters with Election Commission of Pakistan. The task is to be completed with a time frame of Nov 2017 to May 2018.

In District Sialkot, it has been estimated that 48850 women living at 870 locations have neither been issued CNICs nor their names have been registered as voters. This number of women not holding CNICs is perhaps the highest in Pakistan. Baidarie Sialkot however fears that this number may be much higher. The organizations on the basis of its interaction with rural populations have found that approximately 35 to 40 percent women have not been obtained CNICs hence their names do not appear in the electoral rolls.

Baidarie Sialkot plans to facilitate approximately 19000 women in Sialkot Tehsil, 6350 women Tehsil Sambrial, 13000 in Tehsil Daska and 10500 women in Tehsil Pasrur of the district. By the end of Jan, 2018 the organization through a rigorous process of social motivation and interaction with local communities has identified 6400 women and submitted applications of 4000 women for issuance of CNIC. For this purpose NADRA offices in Sialkot are providing maximum cooperation by providing the Mobile Registration Vans available with them and entertaining the women voters at NADRA facilitation counters.

However, given the limited time at hand it seems that thousands of women & eligible girls may remain disenfranchised during the next general elections to be held in mid-2018.