WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT: BREAKING THE BARRIERS

Women have formed one of the most socially, economically and politically marginalized segments in the Pakistani society. Being the most pertinent organizing principles in the patriarchal society, gender roles are defined as such that women survive at the lowest rung of tribal, feudal, and capitalist social settings, with slight variations in rural-urban context.

Systemic subordination to men predetermined by patriarchal values has characterized the status of women who continue to live in private-public dichotomy, which restricts their economic and political mobility. Such deeply embedded structural social conditions have resulted in lowest social indicators for Pakistani women in terms of their education, health, and economic and political profiles.Being unorganized, confined to their homes, subordinated by males and politically dis-empowered, the state has traditionally found women a politically unattractive group to invest in. However, the decade of 1990 saw a global impetus, spearheaded by the United Nations System and human rights organizations, for affirmative actions worldwide to eradicate gender discrimination and disparities in all spheres of life. The government of Pakistan also came under intense pressure from international organizations and a rather more strengthened women’s rights movement at home, to take tangible steps to improve the situation of women.

While successive governments made targeted policies to improve the status of women in society over the past 15 years, they shied away from empowering women politically and creating an enabling environment for them to participate in local, regional and national-level decision-making processes.

It was only in August 2000 that the Military Government of Pakistan announced its landmark Devolution of Power Plan under which 33 percent quota for women was introduced in local councils and 17 % quota for women in the legislative assemblies. Subsequently, in 2005, the military government reduced the number of total seats of women in union councils. It reduced their seats from 36,000 to 24,000 at the lowest tier of the local government system. This was a serious policy reversal on gender. Yet, women quota changed the perspective of the population about the role of women in society and politics. Now, she is being accepted as a leader and a decision maker. This was indeed a revolutionary change. But transforming women quota into women empowerment and good governance remains a great challenge.

As most women councilors are illiterate, inexperienced, have no or little understanding of local power dynamics, lack political skills and knowledge of local government and above all have no financial base, they could not perform well. Most women councilors felt as if they have been thrown into a political jungle. Keeping this huge challenge in mind, PATTAN launched a capacity building and networking project for them soon after the local government elections 2001.

Sheer representation to any asset-less and disorganized section would only frustrate them. Women councilors did not have any clue about their roles and responsibilities, neither they had any institutional and financial (travel and honorarium) support from the local governments. Along with this, they were under tremendous pressure from their constituents. In order to help them to cope with this, PATTAN adopted a two pronged strategy to empower the women councilors: Raise their capacity and knowledge base and to organize them through networks.

First, women councilors of three to four union councils were trained and gelled into networks, and then women councilors of upper tiers of local councils were encouraged to join the networks. By March 2008, the women councilors in total have 67 chapters of women councilors in the network across the country. This includes one at national, three provincial, 23 districts and 40 tehsil/towns chapters with a total membership of 2,420. Pattan continues to provide intellectual, financial and moral support to the network. This is perhaps the only elected network of women councilors in whole of South Asia. It has a great potential to emerge as a vanguard of a women’s movement in Pakistan.

In 2005 local government elections, in collaboration with the women councilors of WCN established an independent platform for women candidates. In some districts it supported women candidates against non-quota seats as well. While in one union council it formed a complete panel for a union council. In total, it supported more than 600 women candidates; nearly two-thirds of them won the election.

Each chapter has the following office bearers: President, Vice President, General Secretary, Joint Secretary, Finance Secretary, Information Secretary and Administrative Affairs Secretary. In addition, at each level there is an Executive Council, which integrates various chapters at horizontal and vertical levels.

While all the office bearers and Executive Council members of national, provincial and Tehsils/towns bodies are elected by the general body members, the district bodies are elected by all the office bearers of all Tehsil/town bodies of respective districts.

Very often, it is a fine balance and combination of various forces, which pave the way to change, and development. The quota for women came when rights based civil society organisations had already rooted themselves in Pakistan and the flood of neo-media was happening in the country. It became difficult both for state actors and anti-women forces to get away with gang rapes and violence.  The media would take up an issue and the rights based groups would come to the streets and protest. This would force the state to act. Perhaps the most famous case in this regard was of Mukhtaran Mai, who was gang raped on the orders of a local Punchayat. Pattan and Women Councilors’ Network took out large demonstrations and this forced the government to take action against the powerful rapists. When the Lahore High Court after two years of hearings acquitted her rapists, thousands of women councilors and right activists came out to the streets and protested against the decision. As a result, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan took a Suo Moto action and reversed the decision of the lower court. In the last eight years WCN and Pattan took up dozens of such cases. In 2006, on the occasion of International Women Day, rape survivors led the rally.

Prior to 2005 local elections, the government announced reduction in the women seats from six to three for the union councils. Pattan and WCN decided to challenge the decision. Two day long protest demonstrations were held in Islamabad and all over the country. In addition, the ministers, the MPs and the donor agencies were given presentations. This pressure could force the government only partially. We managed to get only one seat back. In October 2008, once again the incumbent government tried to test the water by announcing a further cut in the women’s seats. We immediately protested against the announcement, our delegation met the Federal Minister for Women and Development and informed her about our position. The government positively responded to our appeal and announced that it had no plan to cut women seats.

In 2004, Pattan in collaboration with WCN and launched a campaign against the draconian Hudood Ordinances. It included an awareness campaign against the Ordinances, a signature campaign followed by rallies in Islamabad and Multan. Finally, in 2006 the Parliament of Pakistan passed amendments in the Ordinances despite opposition from the religious parties.

Prior to the 2008 general elections, we together developed and launched a Gender Manifesto in Islamabad. Women MPs of various political parties participated in the conference and adopted it. Subsequently, more than 5,000 copies of the manifesto were distributed all over Pakistan. The manifesto will be used for advocacy campaigns during the tenure of the current Parliament.

In August 2008, five women were buried alive in Balochistan. The media highlighted the issue. In response to this, some Senators from Balochistan defended the practice by declaring it their centuries old tradition. This triggered a huge anger. Pattan and WCN were the first organisations that called upon the rights activists to protest against the Senators and demanded arrest of the killers. This finally forced the authorities to arrest some killers.