Disenfranchisement of Women in Lower Dir. Results of a Fact Finding Exercise. Asim Jamil and Safiya Aftab

Transcription

1 Results of a Fact Finding Exercise Asim Jamil and Safiya Aftab

2 TIt Copyrights AAWAZ AAWAZ Programme is funded by the UKAid through the Department for International Development (DFID), AAWAZ was conceived initially as a five-year programme, from 2012 to Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) is the Management Organisation (MO) for implementing the AAWAZ programme, while Pakistan s prime civil society organisations: Aurat Foundation (AF), South-Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-PK), Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) and Sungi Development Foundation (SF) form the implementation consortium responsible for directly working with communities. All publications by AAWAZ are copyrighted, however, can be cited with reference.

3 Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction Key Findings : View of Key Stakeholders : Findings from Survey Conclusion Annex I: The Agreement Barring Women from Voting... 13

4 Acronyms ANP ECP JI KP PTI Awami National Party Election Commission Pakistan Jamat-e-Islami Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf

5 Executive Summary Since 1970, elections in Pakistan have been conducted on the basis of adult franchise, a provision that is protected by the Constitution, and by Pakistan s endorsement of a number of international treaties. Therefore, attempts to disenfranchise certain groups, including women, are not only against the law of the land, but also violate constitutional provisions and international treaty obligations. In spite of the clear-cut legal injunctions in this regard, attempts to disenfranchise women have been reported in the context of elections in Pakistan from time to time. Taking a case study approach, this paper investigates women s planned disenfranchisement in one particular instance: bye-elections for a provincial assembly constituency, PK-95, in the district of Lower Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in May Prior to the general elections on May 10, 2013, political parties active in PK-95 had signed an agreement saying that due to prevalent conditions women would not vote in the general elections. Two years down the line, the seat again fell vacant as the incumbent joined the Senate of Pakistan. In the bye-elections held in May 2015, the issue of women disenfranchisement again came up, as observers found that once more, women were absent from the polling stations. As a result of the efforts of civil society, the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP) summoned representatives of all political parties, and launched an enquiry into the voting process in PK-95. The ECP, in a landmark decision, declared the bye-election null and void on June 2, The decision was challenged in Peshawar High Court by the candidate who had been declared victorious in the bye-election, on the grounds that no voter from the constituency had filed a complaint about being barred from voting. The court went on to suspend the Commission s verdict barely ten days after it was issued. A series of interviews was conducted with leaders of political parties, government officials particularly from the Election Commission and community leaders in Lower Dir to find out how the disenfranchisement of women had proceeded. In addition, a small household survey of 178 respondents was conducted to get some insights into societal attitudes towards women s right to vote. Most representatives of political parties denied any attempt to stop women from proceeding to the polling stations. However, the representative of the Awami National Party (ANP) did admit that the atmosphere in the constituency had been tense before the election, and many political parties did not allow their female voters to go out on election day as they feared reprisals from workers of a particular religious party, which had been vocal 1

6 about enforcing the ban. This view was echoed by the representative of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) who added that his was the only mainstream party not to sign on the agreement banning women from voting. He also said that the party had approached the Election Commission in this regard, and had in fact withdrawn the papers of their candidate two days before the election. The Commission admitted to knowledge of the agreement, and also admitted that it was unable to do anything to prevent its implementation. The household survey of 178 respondents demonstrated some interesting differences across men and women. The level of political awareness was high across the two groups. Overall (including both men and women), 85 percent of respondents said either that they voted because they felt their vote could make a difference, or because it was their right and responsibility as good citizens to vote. Interestingly, the same responses were found when the data were analysed separately for women, with 61 percent of all women respondents asserting that it was their right to vote, and a further 16 percent saying they felt their vote could make a difference. More than half the respondents asserted strongly that women had the right to vote. When the data were analysed separately for women, 61 percent asserted the same thing, i.e. women had a right to vote. Almost 90 percent of respondents said that the move to stop women from voting was the result of a sustained effort by certain groups. However, only two respondents (both male) mentioned the agreement reached by political parties. Women were asked specifically about why they did not cast their vote in the recent bye-election. Most cited local, tribal traditions as the reason for not voting, but a few (about 14 respondents) also said that they had not voted as male polling staff were also present in polling stations, and there were no separate arrangements for women. A few respondents (about 20) explicitly said that they did not vote as tribal leaders or political parties had barred them from doing so. Interestingly, only 1 percent of female respondents felt that the security situation posed a threat to their going out to vote. Interestingly, more than half the total respondents (55 percent and this proportion was true for women respondents too) felt that the ban on women s voting was likely to be a permanent feature. 2

7 1. Introduction Voting is a fundamental right in a democratic system. Since 1970, elections in Pakistan have been conducted on the basis of adult franchise. As per Section 7A of the Conduct of General Elections Order of 2002, the only condition governing eligibility of the voter is that he/she should be a citizen of Pakistan, and should have attained the age of 18 years. The legislation is in line with Pakistan s international commitments. Pakistan is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1 and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), that bind the state to ensure universal suffrage and guarantee free and fair elections under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 2 Therefore, attempts to disenfranchise certain groups, including women, are not only against the law of the land, but also violate constitutional provisions and international treaty obligations. In spite of the clear-cut legal injunctions in this regard, attempts to disenfranchise women have been reported in the context of elections in Pakistan from time to time. This study investigates planned disenfranchisement of women in one particular instance: bye-lections for a provincial assembly constituency in the district of Lower Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in May The purpose of the study is to identify the reasons why women were banned from exercising their voting rights, to obtain the views of key players in this arrangement, and to examine the roles of political parties and the election administration. 1.1: Context Dir was an independent state that became part of Pakistan in 1947, but formally joined the Federation in In the first national election held in 1970, the Pakistan People s Party (PPP) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) became the leading parties in the district. In 1996, the district was divided into two, with Upper and Lower Dir forming two separate districts respectively. Anecdotal evidence suggests that women s turnout in all elections national, provincial, and local bodies has been exceptionally low in both Upper and Lower Dir. This assertion cannot be verified through data as the ECP 1 The relevant articles are Article 3, Article 25 sub-sections (1) and (2), and Article The relevant articles are Article 2, Article 7, and Article 21 sub-sections (1) and (3). 3

8 does not publish data on the number of male and female voters separately. 3 In the constituency in question (PK-95 Lower Dir II), turnout has historically been low in general. As the table below shows, turnout in the constituency, even in recent general elections, has barely crossed 30 percent, and winning candidates have consistently been returned with less than 20 percent of the total registered votes. Table 1: Turnout in Elections in PK-95 Sr. No. Election Year Election Type Turnout Returned Candidate Votes General Election 25.12% 15% General Election 21.92% 10% General Election 30.88% 18% By Election 27.14% 13% Prior to the general elections on May 10, 2013, political parties active in PK-95 had signed an agreement saying that due to prevalent conditions women would not vote in the general elections (see Annex I). Further, the agreement stated that any individual or party violating this condition would pay a fine of Rs. 5 million to the other signatories. This agreement obviously had no legal standing, but is believed to have been strictly adhered to, in that women did not, as per information from the field, vote in the constituency in the general elections of This is in spite of the fact that the constituency has over 50,000 registered women voters. This issue was raised in the post-election period by civil society organisations such as Aurat Foundation, which had been part of the election observer s groups, alongside international organisations such as Gender Concerns International. At that time too, civil society called for the elections to be declared null and void, not just in Lower Dir but in a number of constituencies, mainly across KP, where women were believed to have been barred from voting. In spite of this pressure, however, no concrete action was taken by the authorities and neither did civil society take the matter to the judiciary. Two years down the line, the seat again fell vacant as the incumbent joined the Senate of Pakistan. In the subsequent bye-elections held in May 2015, the issue of women being disenfranchised again came up, as observers found that once more, women were absent from the polling stations. The issue was brought to the fore by women activists, including some women members of political parties whose representatives had actually signed the 2013 agreement. The contention of the activists and representatives 3 Presiding officers are supposed to fill out Form IV at all polling stations, which indicate separately the number of male and female voters. The ECP has tightened controls in this regard, but the data are still not collected in most constituencies, and certainly not in Lower Dir. However, the forms are generally returned incomplete. 4

9 of civil society was that the election be declared null and void, given that the ECP has the power, under the Representation of People Act 1976, to declare an election null and void if it finds any illegality in the electoral process. 4 In this case, the move by political parties to exercise undue influence on the process by trying to force registered voters not to exercise their right, was clearly a violation of electoral law. 5 The AAWAZ partner in Lower Dir, SAP-PK, played an important role in organising women activists in this regard and in fact assisted a group of women to file a case against seven candidates who had contested the bye-election, as well as officials of the ECP, in the Peshawar High Court. 6 As a result of these efforts, the ECP summoned representatives of all political parties and launched an enquiry into the voting process in PK-95. In spite of the assurance of major political parties that the decision not to vote was purely based on cultural traditions and was taken by the women themselves, the ECP, in a landmark decision, declared the bye-election null and void on June 2, This was the first time in Pakistan s history that an election was voided on the basis of non-participation of female voters. This victory, though significant, was short-lived. The ECP s decision was challenged in Peshawar High Court by the candidate who had been declared victorious in the bye-election, on the grounds that no voter from the constituency had filed a complaint about being barred from voting. The court went on to suspend the Commission s verdict barely ten days after it was issued. As of October 2015, the candidate s election has not been declared valid, but nor has a date for re-election been announced for the constituency. The candidate has now taken the matter to the Supreme Court. 4 See 103AA for Power of Commission to declare a poll void, in Chapter X, Representation of People Act Section 81: Undue influence, sub section 1: (a), chapter VIII, ROPA 1976, and Section 78: Corrupt practice, sub-section 4. 6 Case no. 2080P filed in Peshawar High Court. 5

10 2. Key Findings While the facts of the case are as recounted above, this case study seeks to explore how voters and other stakeholders in Lower Dir perceive the situation. The analysis is based on a series of interviews with leaders of political parties and the ECP authorities in Dir, as well as on a small sample survey conducted in the area. 2.1: View of Key Stakeholders In addition to the ECP, discussions were held with leaders of three major political parties in the constituency. The representative of the JI argued that the party favours women voting, but not casting a vote is a personal choice, possibly arising from disinterest or lack of trust in democratic processes. He reiterated that political parties cannot coerce women to vote. He also said that prior to the bye-election, a JI female MNA, Syeda Ayesha, came to Lower Dir and launched a campaign to encourage women to vote. He accepted that an agreement about women not voting was made in 2013, and that he was also a signatory to that agreement, but in 2015 no such written agreement was drafted. He contended that the issue of women s disenfranchisement was raised by some NGO workers to defame JI, and that no attempt had been made to stop women from voting. The Awami National Party (ANP) representative agreed that his party member, Abdul Wahid, was also a signatory of the accord signed before the general elections of He claimed that the accord was prepared under the supervision of the JI, and that ANP signed only because there were serious threats to its female voters. He further divulged that the parties had agreed that in the local government elections, they would allow women to vote to the extent of ten to fifteen votes from each union council just enough so that the suspicions of the ECP would not be aroused, and the election would not be declared void. In his view, the issue of women s voting arose in the region due to the prevalence of combined polling stations. He felt that separate polling stations for women would go a long way towards solving the problem, as families would feel more inclined to allow their female family members to go out to vote in such cases. He said that ANP had gotten approval from the administration in Lower Dir to establish separate polling stations for females, but the JI had not supported this initiative. 6

11 The third politician interviewed was a representative of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI). He informed the researchers that the ban on women voting is based on the mutual consensus of political parties, tribal leaders, and the ECP, but reiterated that PTI was not a signatory to the 2013 agreement. He said that PTI had threatened that they will not contest the elections if the ECP did not ensure that women would vote, but the ECP had failed to do this. In fact, two days before the election, the PTI withdrew the nomination papers of their candidate for this reason. According to the PTI candidate, female voters did want to come out to vote but were thwarted by the JI s workers. In a meeting with an ECP official based in Lower Dir, the interviewee agreed that the right to vote is a basic human right of every citizen, and this right is also protected by the constitution. However, he was of the view that there are cultural factors that restrict women from casting their votes in Lower Dir in particular, male family members tend to restrict women s movement. He also pointed out that the local chapters of political parties are patrons of this arrangement wherein women are disenfranchised, as women s turnout cannot be nil unless political parties are actively involved in a bid to keep them out of the polling booths. In a more interesting disclosure, the ECP official admitted that the ECP knew of the pre-election agreement wherein women were to be stopped from voting, but claimed that the Commission could not do anything about it. He said that the political parties had been browbeating potential voters, citing the poor security situation in the district, and had succeeded in creating an atmosphere of fear, due to which women did not feel safe leaving their homes on election day. On the issue of combined polling stations, he maintained that the government does not have enough public buildings to establish separate polling stations for males and females. However, only female staff is appointed to supervise female polling booths, and thus women should not feel exposed when visiting combined polling stations. He confirmed that the ANP had put in an application asking for separate polling stations for women before the local government elections, but said that this application had been received two days before the polls and nothing could be done at that late stage. 2.2: Findings from Survey A sample of 178 respondents was picked for the survey, with respondents being distributed across different polling stations. Table 2 lays out the sample selection. 7

12 Table 2: Sample Selection Area/Village/ Polling Station Male Registered Voters Polling Scheme Female Registered Voters Polling Scheme No. of Respondents Area/Village /Polling Station Male Registered Voters Polling Scheme Female Registered Voters Polling Scheme Number of Respondents Mayar Kotky Shahi Khel Mian Kalay Ali Sher Samarbagh Inzaro Banda Munda Sharbanai Sadbar Kalay Toor Qilla Maskeny Tangi Nowokoto Birarai Bazarak Tattar Rahimabad Khargai Shontala Markhano Shah Kambat Sabar Shah Khazana Toti Banda Gambeer Biro Gosam Malala Shina Senzor Fifty one percent of the respondents were women, while the remaining were men. The bulk of respondents (44 percent) were aged between 26 and 45, while a third were aged between 36 and 45 years. About a third of respondents did not have any formal education : Political Awareness In general, respondents were politically aware in that 71 percent expressed a preference for a particular political party, 67 percent could name their MNA and/or MPA, and 58 percent claimed to be registered voters. This proportion did not differ significantly across males and females. 8

13 Respondents were asked if they took an interest in politics, and overall 77 percent claimed that they did. The same response held true for 70 percent of the women who were interviewed. Of the women who said that they were politically aware, 73 percent identified at least one of the ruling parties in KP correctly, but the rest could not do so, citing other mainstream parties in their answers. Just above 40 percent correctly identified the President of Pakistan, compared to 48 percent of persons overall. About half of politically aware women knew the name and whereabouts of the polling station where their votes are registered : Attitudes on Voting The responses on voting were largely positive. Overall (including both men and women), 85 percent of respondents said either that they voted because they felt their vote could make a difference, or because it was their right and responsibility as good citizens to vote. Interestingly, the same responses were found when the data were analysed separately for women, with 61 percent of all women respondents asserting that it was their right to vote, and a further 16 percent saying they felt that their vote could make a difference. Respondents were then asked point blank if they felt that women should cast a vote. About a quarter of respondents in total (24 percent) either did not answer this question or said that they did not have an opinion. Of the remaining, 102 respondents (or 57 percent of the total) strongly asserted that women had the right to vote, while smaller numbers (typically less than 10 responses each) asserted that women should vote because they could play a part in bringing about a change in society, making a better future for their children, or even to make sure their family s preferred party would win! When the same response was analysed for women respondents alone, about 18 percent either did not respond or said they did not know. Of the remaining, 56 women (or 61 percent of all women respondents) asserted that voting was their right, while others pointed to the need to vote to bring about change or to secure better futures for their children, etc. Respondents were also asked if they thought that certain groups (particularly political parties) were opposing women s right to vote. The bulk of respondents overall (88 per cent) agreed that this was the case, and cited a number of possible reasons why this was happening, from the desire of certain influential groups to keep women ignorant (cited by 46 respondents) to the fact that women s votes are considered less important (18 respondents), to religious and cultural reasons (cited by most of the remaining). Only two respondents, both male, cited the agreement signed by political parties as a factor that had added to the move to bar women from voting. One respondent explicitly named a political party as being behind this campaign. 9

14 2.2.3: Political Participation When asked if they had cast their vote in the general elections of 2008 or 2013, or in the local bodies polls held in May 2015, not a single woman could say that she had indeed exercised her right to vote. At the same time, almost all of the women said that male members of their family had voted in the past elections. Women were asked specifically why they did not cast their vote in the recent bye-election. Most respondents cited local, tribal traditions as the reason why they did not vote, but a few (about 14 respondents) also said that they had not voted as male polling staff were also present in polling stations, and there were no separate arrangements for women. A few respondents (about 20) explicitly said that they did not vote as tribal leaders or political parties had barred them from doing so. Interestingly, only 1 percent of female respondents felt that the security situation posed a threat to their going out to vote. When asked why women did not go out to vote, the bulk of male respondents (41 percent) spoke of traditional barriers because of which women were not allowed to go out to vote. A further 19 percent of respondents said that women did not vote for religious reasons. However, 15 percent of male respondents also said that political parties had banned women from voting. The responses of females were slightly different. While most female respondents admitted to facing traditional barriers, only 4 percent spoke of religious barriers. None of the male respondents cited security issues as a reason why their female household members did not vote. However, political parties, when inking the accord banning women from voting, had cited this as a key factor in their decision : Roles of Stakeholders in the Ban Respondents were asked if they thought political parties had played a major role in the disenfranchisement of women in Lower Dir. About a quarter of respondents (most of whom were women) did not answer this question, but of those who did, close to 40 percent, agreed that political parties had a major role to play. Amongst women respondents, 58 of the total of 91 respondents answered this question, but their responses were evenly split with half of those who responded saying that political parties had had a role, and the other half saying they had not. Fourteen of the female respondents explicitly named a political party that they said had played a key role in women s disenfranchisement. Eighteen male respondents also specifically mentioned the same party. 10

15 In addition to political parties, some female respondents (32 in total) also cited other groups or individuals who had a role to play in stopping women from voting. These included male family members, family or tribal elders, and male community members in general. A small number of male respondents also cited similar groups, but most of them felt that the ban was imposed either by political leaders, or in some cases by family heads. Interestingly, more than half of the respondents in total (55 percent and this proportion was true for women respondents also) felt that the ban on women s voting was likely to be a permanent feature. Only 7 women respondents had heard about the political parties agreement banning women from voting, while 39 male respondents claimed to have heard of it. The bulk of respondents overall said they did not know anything about any such agreement. Of those who had heard about the agreement, 29 said that the agreement was brought to the attention of the Election Commission. 11

16 3. Conclusion This case study explored the issue of the women s disenfranchisement in Lower Dir and focused on identifying the responsible factors and players. Interviews and fact-finding exercises show that political parties are mainly responsible for the lack of women s participation, and certain parties had in fact gone out of their way to ensure women s disenfranchisement from the electoral process, not least by creating an atmosphere of fear, and encouraging their workers to conduct patrols on election day stopping women from reaching polling stations. This situation is not acceptable, and the administration must take strong steps to counter any such moves. Given the conservative cultural context, having separate polling stations for women staffed entirely by female staff, is a necessity in the area, and the ECP must ensure that these are in place for the next election. There is also a need to take legal action against all those taking coercive measures to ban women from voting. The cancellation of the election results by the ECP was a step in the right direction, but the momentum needs to be sustained and the case pursued in the superior judiciary. 12

17 Annex I: The Agreement Barring Women from Voting 13

18 House 4A, Street 42 F-7/1, Islamabad