ISLAMABAD: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) council member Farhatullah Babar on Thursday said that the political participation of marginalised groups was progressing far too slowly.

He was speaking to participants at an event titled “National Conference on Electoral Participation and Political Empowerment of Marginalised Groups”.

Event was organised by HRCP and Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) at local hotel.

Mr Babar said the Election Commission of Pakistan, Nadra and political parties must work to resolve structural issues around marginalised voters and candidates.

HRCP secretary-general Harris Khalique said that democracy could only thrive when every citizen had an equal opportunity to participate in the political process.

PML-N MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik recommended simplifying the voting process so that it was easier for ordinary citizens to find their names on electoral rolls on polling day.

PTI MNA Shandana Gulzar and JUI-F leader Asiya Nasir alleged that women voters and voters from religious minorities had faced obstacles—and even threats of violence—on polling day.

MQM-P MNA Kishwer Zehra said that she had always supported the idea of reserved seats for persons living with disabilities, while PPP MNA Sehar Kamran pointed out that most women legislators still had a minimal role in high-level decision making.

FNF head Birgit Lamm said that citizens were aware of the importance of voting and were committed to casting their vote.

Lawyer and researcher Mavra Ghaznavi said the most common problem was access to polling stations for women in remote areas and for persons living with disabilities in general.

“A critical issue is the representation of religious minorities, especially the Ahmadiyya community. Every voice matters and this right must be protected by the state,” she said.

Trans rights activist Nayyab Ali pointed out that discrimination against trans voters was still rampant because of the stigma attached to their gender identity and gender expression.

“Any law that violates the equality provision under the Constitution is null and void,” said lawyer Mahmood Iftikhar Ahmad, adding that the creation of a separate electoral roll for the Ahmadiyya community left them vulnerable because their personal data was accessible and used to target Ahmadiyya homes and business.

Rights activist Romana Bashir suggested that political parties should initially implement quotas for candidates from religious minorities but empower them to the extent that such quotas should ultimately become unnecessary.

Representative of NADRA, Zaheer Ahmed Khan assured participants that it was reviewing ways to increase voters’ access to national identity cards, including the use of guardians’ names for transgender persons to register with.

Assistant director (gender) Amna Sardar said that the ECP would commit to ensuring that voters’ polling stations were not changed randomly and ensure that all polling stations were on the ground floor to facilitate persons with disabilities.

Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024