ISLAMABAD: Women Parliamentarians are actively participating in important institutions like Parliament and Senate during the year 2018- 2019, giving vital input for bringing social and economic change.
According to the report of Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), during the year 2018-2019, women parliamentarians maintained a track record of consistently surpassing reasonable performance expectations by making remarkable contributions to setting the agenda for parliamentary business.
The report says that female lawmakers constitute one fifth (20 per cent or 89) of the Parliament – 69 in the National Assembly and 20 in the Senate.
They sponsored 53 per cent private members’ bills, 27 per cent resolutions, 47 per cent Calling Attention Notices, and 32 per cent questions in both Houses of the Parliament.
The report claimed that they also initiated 40 per cent proposals for amendments to the parliamentary rules of procedure and 39 per cent motions for debate on issues of public importance and they initiated around 30 per cent of the parliamentary interventions singly or in partnership with other women while also partnered an additional three per cent business with their male colleagues.
On an average, each female lawmaker in the National Assembly sponsored eight agenda items in comparison to three items by each male lawmaker, however, in the Senate, they sponsored seven agenda items as compared to eight items by their male colleagues.
The report further revealed that besides agenda contribution, female lawmakers also actively participated in the debates on scheduled business and in raising Points of Order and Matters of Public Importance. Around 62 per cent female lawmakers – 46 per cent of female MNAs and 90 per cent of female Senators – contributed to the discussions and debates during the parliamentary proceedings.
An analysis of the official attendance records of the National Assembly and the Senate illustrates that female lawmakers are more regular in attendance than their male colleagues.
It said on an average, each female Member of the National Assembly (MNA) attended 83 per cent of the Lower House sittings while each Senator attended 64 per cent of the Senate sittings.
In comparison with the last parliamentary year (2017-18), the contribution of the female lawmakers to the agenda in 2018-2019 witnessed a decline from 39 per cent to 33 per cent.
However, the attendance of female MNAs has increased since last year while the attendance of female Senators remained unchanged. The average attendance of each female MNA was 67 per cent during 2017-18 and 83 per cent during 2018-19, it added.
