Only 11 of 275 women candidates elected to NA in Feb 8 polls

Despite a record number of 275 women contesting the February 8 polls, only eleven female lawmakers were able to get elected to general seats, according to data released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Out of the 11 candidates, seven candidates won in Punjab, three in Sindh and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No women candidates won a general seat in Balochistan.

The Elections Act, 2017 directs all political parties to ensure at least five percent representation of women candidates while selecting candidates for general seats, including national and provincial assemblies.

According to the FAFEN report, out of 111 parties, only 30 fulfilled the requirement of 5 percent of women candidates, while four political parties fielded 4.50 to 4.99% of women candidates in general seats.

Of the successful women candidates, four had contested as independent candidate with PTI's support tickets - Shandana Gulzar (NA-30 Peshawar), Aniqa Bhatti (NA-67 Hafizabad), Ayesha Nazir (NA-156 Vehari) and Zartaj Gul (NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan).

Four winning women candidates had contested on PML-N tickets, Nosheen Iftikhar (NA-73 Sialkot), Shizra Mansab (NA-112 Nankana Sahab), Tehmina Dultana (NA-158 Vehari 3) and Maryam Nawaz (NA-119 Lahore).

Two winning female candidates, Nafisa Shah (NA-202 Khairpur) and Shazia Marri (NA-209 Sanghar) had contested on PPP tickets, while the MQM-P had one winning woman candidate, Aasia Ishaq (NA-232 Karachi).