1. The larger question about gender and power can only be understood in terms of the social
structures and how they distribute values in the society. Looking at the general values, social
structures and cultural orientation of the Pakistani population, one finds women in the country as
the most oppressed social and political class. Dependence, passivity, low self-esteem and denial
of even some of the basic rights characterize their general status. But there are great variations in
the status and roles of women depending on their social circumstances.
Educated and professional women in urban areas and from upper classes of the society enjoy
much better status and rights than illiterate women in rural areas. Women in tribal areas of
Baluchistan, Frontier province and remote areas of southern Punjab and interior Sindh live in
more adverse social conditions than women in other parts of the country. Although honour
killings, domestic violence and discrimination by the male members of the families are too
common in these areas, they are not confined there alone.
Our argument is that exclusion from political process or even voluntary low-participation of
women are culturally and socially determined traits; and that the state in the political culture of
traditional male-dominant society of Pakistan has done very little to meaningfully empower
women. The low social status of women because of the customs of largely feudal and tribal
culture pose the biggest barrier in the way of women's involvement in public affairs of the
society in general and electoral politics in particular. Studies on political participation have again
and again demonstrated the relationship between social status and participation in the electoral
politics.
All women groups throughout the history of Pakistan have time and again suggested that the
state must take the lead to increase women's participation through reserving seats for them in the
elected assemblies. Another area of women's demands relate to removing or amending
discriminatory laws against them. All women rights activists consider the state as the primary
agent of bringing about change in their social and political status, as the slow evolution from
within the society would take a longer time. This has been quite a consistent theme in the
feminist movement, but at the same time with the expansion of civil society networks, women
have found a large number of independent forums to articulate their demands and seek and
expand participation in the informal sectors of political power.
During much of the decade of democracy when elected governments were in power, the question
of women's participation remained unsettled, particularly amending of the constitution to extend
the initial period of ten years and the mode of elections. Only recently, the government of
General Pervez Musharraf has taken some radical measures to increase women's participation. In
the new arrangements that have been announced women will be allocated 30 percent of the seats
in the national and provincial assemblies. These are formal affirmative action measures that the
women movement in Pakistan had demanded for a long time. Will their status, role and
participation in elections increase? Will discrimination against them come to an end?
In answering these questions on must focus on social structures, the rural agrarian environment
and the feudal and tribal characteristics of the society. The formal measures that the military
government have taken to end discrimination against women are important but the real change
will come when the social barriers gradually come down. Women's equality as candidates and

2. voters continues to suffer not because of state policy, but primarily due to tradition, social
structures, lower level of education and a male-dominant society.