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In an article titled ‘Women more excited than men’ The Post reported from Islamabad that women showed more enthusiasm than men during polling in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. It also added that vehicles carrying women voters were seen running all day. “In contrast there was a lack of enthusiasm on the part of male voters”, the paper added.
The Nation in a story called ‘Pindi shows greater zeal than capital’ says, “a sympathy wave among the female voters was also noticed, as most of the female voters showed their loyalty to Pakistan People’s Party, because its slain Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, who was brutally murdered on December 27 during election campaign, was also a woman.”
Quoting a middle aged woman the paper said women were being sympathetic to Benazir Bhutto in particular. “After all, she was a woman like me,” said a woman voter in her 50s with her friends from NA-49 who were standing together after casting their votes to the PPP candidate,” the paper cited.
Again citing the number of women elected on the general seats, eleven in all Associated Press of Pakistan said according to the party wise break up most women belonged to PPP, “Eleven women candidates on the national assembly general seats have won the contest.
According to break-up, out of the winning women 5 belonged to PPP, two to PML-Q, 2 to PML-N, while one each from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and independent candidates, private news channel Geo reported,” the paper said.
Another prominent paper Daily Times in its article ‘Number of women, young voters equal to men’, said the women equaled their male counterparts in casting their votes, “Despite the overall low turnout of the elections across the city, the number of youth and women who cast their votes was surprisingly equal to that of men in most constituencies.
Quoting a voter the paper said a large number of women showed their affiliation with the former PPP chairwoman Benazir Bhutto. Hajra Nafees, a voter said, “I feel deeply moved by Benazir Bhutto’s martyrdom. I haven’t cast my vote for the PPP, but I am aggrieved over Benazir Bhutto’s death,” the paper said.
Quoting another voter the paper said, “Mehwish Naz, a 22-year-old voter said, “Girls should come out to cast their votes if they want to assert their role in country’s future. I have come to cast my vote despite the fear of untoward incidents.”
Daily Times in another article titled ‘Female voters with old ID cards feel cheated’, observed that women criticized the government for depriving them of their voting rights, “Nausheen Ahmed, who went to a polling booth in Chak Shahzad, told Daily Times that the EC had spent millions of rupees on advertisements informing the nation that people with old identity cards were eligible to cast their votes, but the situation on the ground appeared otherwise.”
In yet another story of the Daily Times‘Tribal women vote despite militant threats’, the paper said that despite threats from radicals, numerous women in the Federally Administered Tribal Area and Frontier Regions cast their votes.
“Around 2,027 women cast their votes in NA-45 of Jamrud subdivision amid tight security provided by the government and armed candidates”, the paper mentioned.
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RatingFuture time for pakistan is actually not good politically,naturally,socially and horoscopically because the nation did not have right birth in all ways.
But the ‘winners’- Bhutto’s PPP and Nawaz’s PML (N) should try to rise above considerations of political vengeance and jointly (if it is not too much to ask from them), should try to first steady the ‘democratic boat’ that is still rocking in a sea of uncertain future with terrorist groups of various hues and denominations chasing it to drown it before it can swim across to safety and security! Parvez Musharraf has finally met his ‘Waterloo’ at the hands of the masses in Pakistan and the political leaders who are headed towards the helm of a democratically elected government in Pakistan should not be dissipating their energies in trying to flog / whip a ‘kicking horse’ that is now, more or less dead! Instead, their priority should be to restore a genuine democratic system of governance and a lasting ‘Democratic Edifice’ like that of India, by rebuilding all those symbols of a true democracy – a Totally Independent Judiciary and a genuinely free Press and Media’- that were all but destroyed by Parvez Musharraf in the recent past.
However, with a total route of the ‘The King’s Party – Pakistan Muslim League (Q) –a party that was more or less totally in cohorts with the General in all his autocratic manipulations and maneuvers before Parvez Musharraf was forced by circumstances (Read Pressure from the Western Countries) to give up his uniform, lift the unconstitutional emergency and announce elections, one may confidently say that notwithstanding his one final good deed of conducting a free, fair and substantially peaceful elections after taking several dictatorial and unconstitutional measures that had literally made his rule in Pakistan, a rule by a military junta under ‘Martial Law’, his days as the ‘President’ are truly numbered..In all probability, Parvez Musharraf must already be not only counting his days but also, he must have started ‘packing his belongings’ for a journey to a distant location to lead a Peaceful and Comfortable life like Nawaz Sharief and Benazir Bhutto had been forced to by him but in exile away from his bete-noir’ Mr. Nawaz Sharief, who must now be itching to avenge his forced exile ten years back and is probably in a position to do so!
Pakistanis have voted very judiciously this time and whatever coalition government gets formed will be forced to attempt ‘rule by consensus’ unlike the earlier elected governments of Benazir and Nawaz Sharief that had clearly shown as being a ‘one-man’ autocratic as well as corrupt dispensations! President Parvez Musharraf needs to be complimented now for at least making good his promise to the Pakistanis of a ‘free, fair
Only a month and a half back, on the morrow of Benazir Bhutto’s brutal assassination it looked as if Pakistan had truly entered in to a free fall towards an abyss of blood, gore and tears never to recover from the anarchic situation that it had in any case entered in to even before the assassination of Ms.Bhutto. Strange are the ways of providence – light has apparently emanated from deep down an abyss like tunnel in to which the masses in Pakistan had maneuvered themselves in the past because of trusting their gutless and corrupt political leaders like Nawaz Sharief who, wile trying to save his neck ten years ago had willingly bartered away the fate of those masses in to the hands of a shrewd military dictator Parvez Musharraf to face a decade of a tyrant’s rule.
Who knows, this might be the last ever election Pakistan and Pakistani women took actively part in. God forbids, but it seems all our freedom is going to be taken away by Islamists, we fear we will be thrown back behind the pardah.The signs are not very good, for us and Pakistan. The muslim activists of India like Shabana Azmi should help us.
shabana cannot help to you and nobody except you pakistanis alone.You pakistanis should fight against mullahs first..then against politicians.
Yes the signs are not very good for you especially.You look one of the jealous indians talking foolish against PAKISTAN.By the way who is Shabnam Azma.
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