As many as 1,100 registered female voters in Mohripur, a town in Khanewal district, did not cast their votes, local media reports have revealed.
“Our elders decided long ago that it is a sin for women to vote,” said Baba Omar, 80, a resident of Mohripur.
“Women have never voted here…we believe women who vote will go to hell,” he said.
The regional election commission had set up three polling stations in Mohripur for the general elections 2013 including separate polling booths for women. Women presiding officers and polling staff were also appointed.
“None of them voted,” said Samia Bibi, a resident of the area.
She said most women in Mohri Pur worked as daily wage labourers and it was not purdah that stopped them from voting.
“We work in the fields and at other places…it is about following our traditions,” she said.
Malik Khadim Hussain, the head of a village panchayat in Mohripur, told reporters,“We feel honoured that the women here have never opted to vote.”
Mohripur is part of the NA-156 constituency. Raza Hayat Hiraaj, an independent candidate, won this seat for the third time this year securing more than 78,000 votes.
Hiraaj said that he had tried to persuade women to vote but failed.
