Pakistan has been through a lot lately – civil violence, political disputes, religious and sectarian conflicts, and terrorism to name but a few of the issues. But despite all the controversies and governance issues that have plagued it in the last five years, there remains a ray of hope for the establishment of stability in Pakistan - the continuation of the democratic process in the country. The beauty of popular democracy is that it raises political awareness amongst ordinary citizens, and urges them to stand up for their own rights and the rights of those around them. That’s how societies grow, develop, and move onward to become safer, more tolerant, and more just. In a country like Pakistan, where the democratic process has repeatedly been distorted and subverted by a number of military interventions, the completion of a full electoral term by an elected government is certainly encouraging. The caretaker government has announced the general elections are to be held on 11 May 2013, and right now, electoral fear and anxiety is at its peak in the country.
Pakistan has always been an unpredictable country, in political terms. The country is normally considered to be a male dominated society, with huge support to for conservative, elderly extremists. Nonetheless in 1988, the world observed that the people of Pakistan elected Benazir Bhutto, a centre-left 35-year old as the first female (and, so far, only) Prime Minister of the country, when she returned back from exile in 1980s; today, there is a small but very much present female presence in government and the 2002 election returned 17% women MPs (the UK House of Commons currently has 22% women, while the US Congress has 18%). Similarly, whenever given a chance to elect their leaders, a vast majority of Pakistanis stood up against the ultraconservative political parties and they have never been able to form the government in Pakistan.
This isn’t to say that the political power of these ultraconservative groups has been broken though – or, at least, not everywhere. In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the political landscape has been somewhat different, with the being heavily influenced by the views and ideology of militant Taliban affiliated movements; these groups consider that the democracy is in contradiction to the Islamic principles of governance. They have targeted various political party workers and leaders, and threatened to unleash a further wave of violence for the coming elections in May, declaring that that they will attack anyone taking part in the general elections in their region. Again, though, we can see the green shoots of change even in this traditionally conservative tribal area – for the first time in the history of Pakistan, a FATA tribal woman, named Badam Zari, has announced that she will run in the general elections. She will contest her area as an independent candidate, against 27 men from all of the major political parties.
This news is astonishing for anyone who knows the socio-political dynamics of the tribal areas of Pakistan. Casting a vote can lead to one’s death (according the the New Statesman, pamphlets have been handed out warning that women who vote will face bombing or ‘severe punishment’) so the fact that a woman is contesting for a national assembly seat is particularly striking. Bajur Agency, the seat that Zari is contesting, is a small town in FATA connecting the region to the Kunar province of Afghanistan, and hence holds significant strategic importance. There have been numerous clashes between the militant Taliban and Pakistan Army in Bajur in the recent past, and the locals have suffered enormously because of this on-going conflict – it is a heavily contested area.
Whether or not Badam Zari is able to win the elections, her courage to participate in the democratic process is a symbol of local resistance against the tyranny of both the Taliban and broader repressive social norms, and a sign of the growing support for change that Pakistanis want to bring to their society at large, and the strengthening of norms of democracy and equality in Pakistan.
This news is astonishing for anyone who knows the socio-political dynamics of the tribal areas of Pakistan. Casting a vote can lead to one’s death (according the the New Statesman, pamphlets have been handed out warning that women who vote will face bombing or ‘severe punishment’) so the fact that a woman is contesting for a national assembly seat is particularly striking. Bajur Agency, the seat that Zari is contesting, is a small town in FATA connecting the region to the Kunar province of Afghanistan, and hence holds significant strategic importance. There have been numerous clashes between the militant Taliban and Pakistan Army in Bajur in the recent past, and the locals have suffered enormously because of this on-going conflict – it is a heavily contested area.
Whether or not Badam Zari is able to win the elections, her courage to participate in the democratic process is a symbol of local resistance against the tyranny of both the Taliban and broader repressive social norms, and a sign of the growing support for change that Pakistanis want to bring to their society at large, and the strengthening of norms of democracy and equality in Pakistan.
Rehman Anwer
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