Topic: Encouraging Political Participation by Women
Country: Pakistan
Delegate Name: Elijah Logan
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Pakistan position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Worldwide, women are underrepresented in governments, local and national, and women are discouraged from voting. Women have only recently gained the right to vote in Saudi Arabia, in 2015, and have low turnout because of voter intimidation. But we have seen improvement in women's representation, like the historic majority women governments of Rwanda and Bolivia, and near equal representation in Iceland, Sweden and Cuba. But much work must be done, as women have near no representation in Oman, Qatar, Nauru, Thailand, among various other countries. These countries often have laws inhibiting political participation, as well as various social factors that prevent or scare women from voting and running for office. Social condemnation for political participation is a vital problem in various countries, even in countries we see as equal. Pakistan granted women suffrage in 1947, and thus women have been voting in every election since. Benazir Bhutto was elected prime minister in 1988, and became the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country. Women now make up around 21% of elected positions in Pakistan, an improvement from the past. Women are guaranteed four seats in the Senate and sixty seats in the Assemblies. Women in Pakistan are often intimidated and threatened when they try to vote, and it has gotten so dangerous that the military was deployed to protect woman voters. Fliers are passed around insisting that it is “un-Islamic” for women to be voting and participating in governmental activities. Women voters are often socially ostracized and being pariahs of a town, especially in rural areas. Constant violence against women in society, along with systemic oppression of women disincentivizes women from voting. Pakistan affirms women’s right to vote, and encourages governments to protect woman voters. Pakistan proposes that other countries introduce women-only seats to ensure that women are represented in government, or that governments create quotas for party lists to ensure that women are fairly represented within each political party. Encouraging political participation by women in a fair and representative manner is of vital importance to the Women's Council. It is vital that young girls have women in power they can look up to and view as role models, and equally important that women's voices are heard in our political processes.
