By Muddassir Rizvi We soondiscovered that representation alone, no matter how many seats, will not change the deeply ingrained social attitudes towards women.
We should still speak only when spoken to and should hold no opinions especially opinions that clash with a man's," observes Sumaira Gul, 26, who is a district councillor in Islamabad's twin city, Rawalpindi.
Gul is one of about 40,000 councillors elected to district, tehsil (sub-district) and village councils on the 33 per cent seats reserved for women.
This reservation is part of the devolution of power plan introduced by the then military government in 2000.
The plan was meant to usher in an era of good governance by decentralising local-level decision-making to the communities.
This is the first time that a significant share of local governance body seats has been reserved for women.
The step was hailed by women's rights groups - locally and internationally - as one that would ring in an era of empowerment for half of Pakistan's 145-odd million people.
However, two years later, there are no clear signs of change.
Many women councillors are used as rubber stamps to attest the decisions made by their male counterparts.
Most women complain that they are not allowed to play a vital role in decision-making, and are thus unable to bring about any change in the lives of women.
"Many seats allocated to women continue to be vacant as there are not enough genuine representatives to contest elections.
Traditional politicians goad their wives, sisters or mothers to contest so as to maintain monopoly over power," says Gul.
More than 3,000 seats reserved for women are still vacant, mostly in the conservative communities of the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan, where male members don't allow women to vote leave alone contest.
"I have been active in social service for the last 10 years and although my in-laws and immediate family resisted my participation in the elections, my husband remained supportive.
It is not easy for a woman to be involved in public work and steer clear of scandals and disrepute.
This is one of the biggest reasons why women hesitate to enter politics," Gul says.
For decades, women's rights groups in Pakistan have been demanding legal steps that facilitate women's participation in politics.
"In the mid-1980s, when general elections were to be held, we had demanded that all political parties promise 30 per cent representation for women in elected institutions as part of their manifestos.
So when 33 per cent seats [albeit in local-level bodies] were reserved for women in 2001, we were very happy," says Nasreen Azhar, a veteran women's rights activist and a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
These groups now have a new fight.
They are grappling with a deeply patriarchal social set-up that does not allow women councillors to function effectively.
The list of complaints is long.
To name a few: no travel allowance for women to attend council and assembly meetings; no office space where they can be contacted; contrary to the vision of the devolution of power plan, low or no representation in various committees, particularly budgetary committees; marginal employment of women in local government institutions.
"They think that women councillors should restrict themselves to the health and education committees.
Our role has been restricted to monitoring.
We are ignored when decisions are made," complains Sughra, a councillor from rural Sindh.
Talaat Naz, a member of the district council in Sukkur, a town in the Sindh province, agrees.
The problem, she says, is not with the law but with non-implementation.
"Most of these problems are solved if the law is enforced in its true spirit, particularly regulations relating to the payment of honoraria to union council members.
If women don't have money to go and attend council meetings, what role can they perform?" she asks.
The fact is that reservation of seats for women has not yet had the anticipated results.
So much so that women councillors have seats reserved for them in council halls - they cannot sit where they choose.
Gul speaks out strongly against her male counterparts.
"When I joined the union council as an elected leader, it was unheard of for a woman to ask for her share in the development budget or demand that the development projects she proposes be approved.
Things are somewhat better now, but there is still no fair division of resources or inclusion of project proposals by women councillors in the development plans of the area." But women's groups have not given up hope.
A number of NGOs are working to build the skills and capacities of elected councillors.
Aurat Foundation, one such organisation, is involved in training women councillors and has chapters all over the country.
It is also the convenor of the Citizens' Campaign for Women's Representation in Local Government.
Pattan Development Foundation, another NGO, has taken a different approach.
It has helped create a countrywide network of women councillors with a view to building their political capital.
"We believe that the country needs active, vibrant women politicians.
Our training programmes are designed to suit this end," says Sarwar Bari, who heads Pattan.
The government says that it will introduce more provisions that enable women councillors to play an effective role.
"We have set the ball rolling.
It takes time for change to occur.
Women are at the political centrestage now.
In due course, their role will become more effective because the country cannot continue to ignore the capacities of half its population," says a spokesperson for the National Reconstruction Bureau, the principal agency monitoring the devolution of power plan.[WFS] About us | Advertise | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Weather | Letters | Send Mail Disclaimer: Information is being made available at this site purely as a measure of public facilitation.
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