• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • In the news: Pakistan

    Harassment of female voters, aid workers shadow historic Pakistan election

    Pakistan just held a historic election, but civil society is protesting over thousands of women barred from the polls by Islamic radicals and the fresh killings of aid workers in the world’s most dangerous place for humanitarians.

    By Johanna Morden // 30 May 2013
    Women in Pakistan gather for a talk about violence against women. In the elections that happened last May 11, many women in different precincts were forbidden from voting by Pakistani political parties and community elders. Photo by: Gretchen Alther / uusc4all / CC BY-NC-ND

    Pakistan just held a historic election, but civil society is protesting over thousands of women barred from the polls by Islamic radicals and the fresh killings of aid workers in the world’s most dangerous place for humanitarians.

    The May 11 vote — the first ever to come after the government completed a full five-year term after a succession of military dictators — was shadowed by these two concerns, sparking an outcry from civil society movements and NGOs.

    Pakistan, often called a democratic victory, had 11 million less female than male registered voters out of the total pool of 86 million with the right to vote in the elections. Figures from the Election Commission show that only one in every three voters was a woman in many polling stations, especially — according to aid groups — in areas controlled by Islamic radicals.

    A spokesperson from the Pakistan NGOs Forum told Devex that political parties in those precincts agreed to forbid women from casting their votes. The factions include the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian, Awami National Party, Jumati Islami-Tarazo, Jamiatul Ulema Islam, Qomi Watan Party, Pakistan Tehreeki Insaf–PTI and the Pakistan Muslim League-N.

    Community elders in the Bandagai district (Dir Upper) for instance prohibited any women from voting in their polling station.

    In many cases, the agreements were said to be made off the record to avoid repercussions, while in others they were made binding on all candidates and voters, with a fine of up to 10 million Pakistani rupees ($101,500) for violators.

    Aid groups are now calling for fresh ballots in the areas affected by the ban, citing violation of constitutional rights on female suffrage.

    Support With Working Solution CEO Javed Akhter, a member of the gender-based violence division of the Protection Cluster in Pakistan, told Devex that a network of local NGOs are gearing up for a protest, preparing an action plan and collecting documentary proof to be used in an advocacy campaign.

    The movement has been however challenged by the remote location of the polling stations involved and the deep-seated influence of radical Islamic groups in these areas.

    Islamic extremists have also been involved in attacks on aid workers, which led humanitarian groups to brace for the conduct of the elections in the South Asian country earlier this month, and on Tuesday a vaccine worker was killed and another was seriously injured in an attack by unknown assailants during field work in Peshawar.

    The World Health Organization— which has temporarily suspended its vaccination programs in that district — has repeatedly asked religious leaders to help put a stop to the killings, but Devex has learned that many have refused.

    Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

    • Humanitarian Aid
    • Democracy, Human Rights & Governance
    • Social/Inclusive Development
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Johanna Morden

      Johanna Morden

      Johanna Morden is a community development worker by training and a global development journalist by profession. As a former Devex staff writer based in Manila, she covered the Asian Development Bank as well as Asia-Pacific's aid community at large. Johanna has written for a variety of international publications, covering social issues, disasters, government, ICT, business, and the law.

    Search for articles

    Related Jobs

    • Projects and Operations Manager
      Trujillo, Peru | Peru | Latin America and Caribbean
    • Privacy Lawyer (Hybrid)
      The Hague, Netherlands | Netherlands | Western Europe
    • Vice President
      Eastern Europe | Western Europe
    • See more

    Most Read

    • 1
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 2
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      Reigniting momentum for maternal, newborn, and child health
    • 5
      Opinion: Why vision is key to unlocking global development potential

    Trending

    Financing for Development Conference

    The Trump Effect

    Newsletters

    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement