The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) here Wednesday unveiled a set of recommendations for improved political participation of women under Political Parties Order 2002 and Local Government System and it was supported by the representatives of the political parties, members of the civil society and experts.
The suggestions were discussed with the stakeholders to get their inputs at the policy dialogue arranged by the NCSW in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB), Decentralization Support Programme, Canadian International Development Agency and SoSec.

The sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Women Development has called upon the Election Commission and political parties to make coordinated efforts to discourage forced disenfranchisement of women voters during by-elections in different parts of the country. It termed such practices as violation of the women rights and decided to make all out efforts to undo such acts. The meeting of the Sub-Committee which was presided over by Nilofar Bakhtiar, held a discussion on the role played by the Election Commission and political parties in recent by-elections in Swat and Mansehra with special reference to forced disenfranchisement of women voters in the said elections.

Speakers at a seminar, ìWomen, Religion and Politicsî, said Saturday that political parties should give equal opportunities to women so that they could play their role in the progress of the country.

The two-day seminar, organized by the Heinrich Boll Stiftung and Shirkat Gah-Women Resource center here, discussed challenges pertaining to women’s participation in politics in Pakistan.

Distinguished speakers and experts from different walks of life, including Khawar Mumtaz, CEO Shirkat Gah, Sherry Rehman, former federal minister for Information and MNA Bushra Gohar, spoke on the occasion. ANP MNA Bushra Gohar said that politics is the art of possibility but, unfortunately, it is had become the art of compromise in Pakistan. She said that the PPP claimed to be a progressive party but its ministry of religious affair had issued an order forbidding women without veil to go to Haj.

Bhutto was a powerful symbol for women in South Asia. Her homecoming to Pakistan in 2007 after eight long years in exile managed to make us forget about Bhutto's (more specifically her husband's) countless corruption charges. Even the allegations of Benazir murdering her older brother in a power struggle to win control over their father's political party seemed to vanish.

Instead we were introduced to a triumphant and eloquent woman returning to her country, to save Pakistan from the hands of the military and the mullahs, to bring democracy back. Remember those images flashing across our TV screens when her plane landed in Karachi? Palms opened in prayer, Benazir placed her face in her hands, and wiped away her tears. She was home.