Genderdemocracy

Representatives of political parties and civil society all echoed in same voice for the increased representation and participation of women in decision-making forums in the political and social arena by ensuring level-playing field to them. They shared these views at the launching of the Gender Action Manifesto, policy paper, organised by the Heinrich Boell Stiftung in collaboration with the Women's Parliamentarian Caucus on 13th October, 2017 in Islamabad.

Political empowerment of women cannot be made possible without changing the patriarchal mindset within political parties, participants at a consultation on “Gender Action Manifesto” highlighted. The consultation was held in Karachi on April 20, 2017as part of a series of such activities being organsied by the Heinrich Boell Stiftung (hbs) at provincial and national level under its “Gender Action Manifesto” project.

“Women nominated on quotas are usually party-bound and they have to follow party-line first and if they disagree with the party, they stay aloof,” said an MNA Nafeesa Khattak during the hbs workshop on “Strategizing Women’s Substantive Political Representation”, held in Islamabad on July 13, 2016.

We have to shift the focus from women’s individual agency and capacity towards structural and constitutional constraints, to understand the barriers for women’s substantive representation in political decision making, says Dr. Farzana Bari in her research study “Bridging the Fault Lines? Rethinking the Gender Quota Approach in Pakistan”, launched by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Pakistan on 26th January 2016 in Islamabad.

Women’s participation in political decision-making and their networking beyond borders play an essential role for peace-building in the region. This is one of the most important lessons learnt from a delegation visit of Afghan and Pakistani women parliamentarians to Berlin and Brussels in early November 2015.

Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) in the Pakistani Parliament, in collaboration with Heinrich Boll Stiftung organized a one-day roundtable meeting to initiate a dialogue with political parties on best ways to strengthen capacities of women police in Pakistan.

Organization of women in parliamentary politics in collaboration with HBS organized a round table consultation on International Human Rights Conventions Ratified by Pakistan on 28th of October, 2014 at Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS).