SWABI, April 22: Ten women candidates of different political parties, who applied for the seats reserved for women in the National Assembly and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from the district, have said that provision of adequate education and health facilities to the deprived womenfolk of Swabi are their top priorities.

They told Dawn here on Monday that there was a need to focus on women rights because they had been ignored by all the previous governments. They regretted that everybody had been talking about the inheritance rights of the women, but no one was ready to give them their share.

During the previous Awami National Party-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa three women from Swabi returned on seats reserved for women. Bushra Gohar, who belongs to Jhanda village, was MNA, Sitara Ayaz from the same village provincial minister and former MPA Yasmin Jasim is a dweller of Maneri Bala.

These women candidates have again got the party tickets for the reversed seats. Najma Hanif, wife of late ANP’s assassinated leader Hanif Gul Jadoon, has also joined the race.

Others who have applied for seats reserved for women include Nasim Akhtar, district president of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians; Asma Zari, provincial general secretary of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz; Ayesha Naeem, provincial joint secretary of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf; Tayyaba and Uzama Khatoon of Jamaat-i-Islami; and two women candidates from Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl). Of them Ms Gohar and Ms Tayyaba have applied for the MNA seats and all the remaining for provincial assembly seats.

Ms Gohar and Ms Yasmin said that during their rule they had worked for the woman rights and the establishment of Bacha Khan Women Stadium in Salim Khan was the example of their contributions.

However, Nasim Akhtar of the PPPP alleged that the women leaders of ANP had got a golden opportunity, but they failed to deliver for the womenfolk.

Answering a question she said: “I have been working on women rights in a non-governmental organisation, but I want to deliver more and eradicate the sense of deprivation among women.”

Asma Zari, the PML-N candidate, said that education was her top priority as it could enable women to get their rights.

“I would work for establishing a women university in Swabi district,” she said.

Female candidate of the JI said that there was need for special educational institutions where women could get quality education. There is also a need for establishing handicraft centres where women could acquire skills, enabling them to stand on their own feet, she said.

Ayesha Naeem said she would focus on better health facilities for women, as currently the hospitals lacked adequate facilities and those in rural areas were not even functioning.