Showing posts with label Empowerment. Show all posts
Who stops Pakistani women to Vote ?
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| A women cast her vote in a polling station |
Who stops Pakistani women to Vote ?
Women's suffrage ( is the right of women to vote and to run for office) has been achieved at various times in various countries throughout the world. In many countries women's suffrage was granted before universal suffrage, so women (and men) from certain classes or races were still unable to vote, while some granted it to both sexes at the same time. According to a timeline lists years when women's suffrage was enacted in various places.
Pakistan declared independence on the 14th of August 1947. In 1956 right to vote extended to national level, previously only literate women could vote, yes according to Constitution of Pakistan women can vote, they have equal rights - but in certain areas men do not allow them to go outside of the house to cast their vote. Women may face two distinct barriers to exercising their right to vote. First, costs of participation may be too high. Traditions or cultural stereotypes may discourage the exercise. Second, women may have fewer or poorer sources of information about the significance of political participation or the balloting process. women are often not registered as voters because they face opposition from male household heads and that female turnout is low because women lack knowledge about the electoral system and about voting. wish to read more, click here.
Women constitute for more than fifty percent of the population of Pakistan. Their participation in the elections is vital to ensure election of right candidate. However if one looks at the women participation in the past elections a sad reality comes to light that their participation has been less than expected. The women in urban areas have to some extent participated in the elections and casted their votes however the percentage has been quite low. Even the highly educated women often stay away from casting their vote. In the rural areas the situation is even worse. Either the women do not cast their votes at all or they act on the advice of the male members of the family. This way often not so deserving candidates get elected and deserving ones lose. The low voter turnaround among women voters is further highlighted by the fact that in 2008 elections average male voter turnaround in the country was almost 49.8% while in women voters it was almost 39.7%.
Women really want to go outside but they're not allowed to. They are dependent on men. In big cities it is different but in some areas, traditions are very strong so they can't.
There are two very different realities. There are women who have become prominent figures in every field of life. They are ministers, members of national and provincial assemblies and political leaders, but on the other hand, there are other women who are the most oppressed class of society. There are many areas in the country where women are deprived from their right of casting votes including Mardan, Shangla and other area like Mianwali. A modern history states that elders and religious leaders attempted to prevent female participation by threatening punishment against tribesmen whose women registered, leading to under-registration in the female population. In 2008, the Taliban ordered women in the FATA regions of Bajaur, Kurram and Mohmand not to vote under threat of "serious punishment," while Mangal Bagh, chief of the Lashkar-e-Islam, forbade women to vote in the Jamrud and Bara subdivisions of the Khyber Agency. Not only in KPK or tribal areas wherever we have feudal system or have a low or no literacy rate women not allowed to poll.
watch the video
A very good article to read about women polling, click here to read.
Dear readers, please feel free to write your comments as well as your suggestion to increase percentage of women voters in Pakistan.
Women's Portrayal in Media
Women's Portrayal in Media
From our childhood we are exposed to media. When we grow older, we pay attention to media for cues on behavior.
Often, television is listed as the main source of information for
today's youth . This presents an alarming problem for
females. The ways in which they are represented in the media, especially
on television, can lead to the continuing oppression of women and the
continued belief that they are objects of male satisfaction (this image
is especially pervasive in advertising).
There are television shows that are more positive toward women, and
there has been progress made. The 1970s especially saw more feminist
oriented programming. However, the 1980s saw an immense drop in such
shows. Right now it seems that for all the progress made, some images
still persist. These images are most often seen in advertising. And
these images are some of the most detrimental of all. As people watch
media portrayals of women, they develop an idea of how women should be,
of what they are. It's not just men that see these images and learn from
them; women also interpret the messages as directions on how to behave.
Now media objectify the women in masses as physical objects that can be looked at and acted upon-- and fail to
portray women as subjective beings with thoughts, histories, and
emotions. Objectification becomes an issue when it is frequent, and when people are commonly presented only as objects and not as subjects as well. When we see an image of a woman who is presented passively, and who
demonstrates no other attributes aside from her physical or sexual
being, that's objectification. Here are some contemporary examples of women who are commonly (although not always) portrayed as passive objects to be enjoyed exclusively as physical beings:- The female models in Deal or No Deal, whose function in the show is to look pretty and to remain passive until the moment the host allows them to "open the case"
- Sexualized images of women in music videos
- Pinup posters of sexualized models
- College girls in Girls Gone Wild videos
- Women in pornography
- Waitresses at Hooters.
Its not too late, we can handle the problem with sincere efforts and result oriented measures as I read about a workshop about women's portrayal in Media.
In this workshop which is held by Uks Research Centre, on 17the July 2012 in Islamabad, a group of nearly 25 journalists belonging to print and electronic media a consensus was made at the conclusion of the workshop that;
Media has played a positive role in highlighting the plight of women. However, in many cases, it has been irresponsible and fostered negativity, suggesting that there is a need to sensitise reporters, editors, program directors and media owners. for more click here.
The participants agreed that the media should respect the right to privacy and maintain professional standards while reporting on women issues.
Media is the best thing that has happened to our country, however it should be ethically responsible considering the social consequences,”
said Sachet Executive President Dr. Rakhshanda Perveen.
Pakistani women in Asian Championship
Pakistani women in Asian Championship
There is no doubt that Pakistani women are really really talented in all parts of life even in sport fields. Now two young Pakistani females prove it again that they have a lot to show, now the world will see their talent in Asian Championship and the field is very masculine
" Karate".
Beenish Akbar and Kulsoom will become the first female karate
players to represent Pakistan in a continental tournament after they
were named in the eight-member squad for the Asian Championship.
Pakistan Karate Federation president Mohammad Jehangir, said, " "These women have a lot of talent and we are here to promote them. We have taken a huge step but I have realistic expectations. They are talented and will benefit from the experience and exposure."
In South Asian Karate Championship held in New Delhi, Kulsum winning two gold, a silver and bronze medal and Beenish Akbar claiming two gold and a bronze medal. On arrival from New Delhi a member of the Pakistani squad said ; "The female members were ecstatic as well and appreciated the work put in by the coaching staff that yielded the positive result."
Pakistani people and Pakistani sports officials specially should appreciate them and Pakistani media should bring these two talented female in light, so the others also get inspiration and young girls involve themselves in sports and parents dont stop them to do so.
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