Abstracts
Panel: Role of Women Parliamentarians in Social and Political Change
Women challenging the political frontiers in Pakistan
Farzana Bari*
The paper will be based on empirical data gathered through the interviews of women parliamentarians and the gender analysis of parliamentary proceedings (2002-2007) in Pakistan. It will try to answer some of the questions raised on the political participation and representation of women in Pakistan, who had entered politics through a gender quota.
The aim is to address some difficult questions, such as whether women legislators can represent the interests of women who are divided as a social group along the lines of class, ethnicity, religion, race, language, age and sexuality. Do women legislators have distinctive political perspectives and different political priorities in comparison to male politicians? Do women bring any additional value to the political realm? To what extent do women legislators succeed in reflecting women’s concerns in public policy? Does the gender quota politically empower women? There will be an attempt to find answers to some of these empirical and theoretical concerns through the performance assessment of women parliamentarians in the parliament of 2002-2007 in Pakistan.
The paper will be organized in various sections. After the introduction, section two will elaborate on research methodologies and on the demographic profile and political background of women legislators. Section three of the paper will contextualize the history of women’s participation and representation in the various parliaments of the country and show how the wider context of democracy and politics shapes and impacts gender representation. Section four will assess the performance of women legislators in relation to the three main roles of the parliament; that is legislation, representation and oversight. The performance assessment of women legislators in these three areas will be made through a detailed analysis of parliamentary proceedings, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Section five will demonstrate the issues and challenges faced by women parliamentarians in performing their roles effectively.
Finally, the last part of the paper will suggest concrete steps, strategies and recommendations that are critically important to facilitate women legislators to move beyond being a mere presence in politics to being substantive representatives who could transform the politics.
**Dr. Farzana Bari is a widely-respected human rights activist and university professor at the Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad. She is Director, Manager, Women's Rights Activist; and, Head of the Gender Studies Department at the QAU.
Role of women parliamentarians and need for internal party quotas
Naeem Mirza*
The role of women parliamentarians is considered critical not only in terms of raising issues and concerns relating to women at public forums so that these are reflected in all public policy, but also, it is critical for ensuring that women gain equitable access to resources, knowledge and institutions. Their meaningful role can make an impact in changing the nature of politics from the present patriarchal and masculine complexion to a more democratic and feminine outlook by mainstreaming gender perspectives into civil and political discourse; and by performing a key role in law-making and approval of budgets; participating in discussions on specific issues and directly influencing policies and programmes. Women parliamentarians in the 12th National Assembly (2002-2007) have demonstrated, through their multi-pronged endeavours that their presence in the House had a purpose. Despite the fact that a majority of the women parliamentarians were elected for the first time, they showed a keen interest in learning and applying the rules; and as the National Assembly completed its five-year term in 2007, they were carrying an enviable record as compared to their male colleagues in key areas of legislative interventions, for example they asked 27% of the total questions; 30% of the total calling attentions notices; 42% of the total private members bills; and 24% of the total resolutions.
Affirmative action measures for the reservation of seats for women at the grassroots and at the macro level contributed to transforming the political culture for women in Pakistan, though women legislators appear to be handicapped in their endeavours in several ways. One obvious reason for this is the indirect nomination system of election to secure reserved seats, which deprives them of the opportunity of dealing directly with the electorate and hampers their entry into mainstream politics. Women’s representation should not be limited to ‘quotas through nominations’. The sooner women develop their own constituencies through an established mechanism the more progress they will make. There is an urgent need for political parties to introduce internal party quotas for women either voluntarily or the state should make it mandatory through an amendment in the law.
 *Naeem Mirza is Director Programmes at Aurat Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan, a human rights activist and gender specialist. He is associated with Aurat Foundation, a leading women’s rights organisation in Pakistan, for the last 12 years. His major areas of work are women in politics, history, democracy and UN instruments.
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