[{"bbox": [94, 152, 1166, 551], "category": "Text", "text": "reconstruction plans as per the 4RF. The support under the action will be sustained over a period of up to 5 years, leading up to the next elections, in 2028. It will contribute to delivering on Pakistan's commitments on gender equality and women empowerment (GEWE) under SDG 5, focusing on women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership in political, economic and public life (target 5.5). The action will also contribute to SDG 10 (inequality) and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). The action contributes to addressing the EU-Pakistan MIP 2021-2027 priority area 3 (governance), which reaffirms the need to improve access to social and economic rights (specific objective 7). It has strong links with priority areas 1 (green inclusive growth) and 2 (human capital) as it should contribute to creating a more enabling environment for equal participation of women in decision-making and as leaders in society. The action also contributes to the implementation of the EU Gender Action Plan III and its country level implementation plan (2021-2025). It further contributes to the objectives of the EU-Pakistan CSO Roadmap 2021-2021, the EU-Pakistan Human Rights and Democracy Country Strategy 2021-2024 and the Youth Action Plan in EU External Action 2022-2027. The action also supports electoral reforms that align with recommendations on gender and human rights from the 2018 EU Electoral Observation Mission and follow-up assessment. It would also directly support and ensure follow up and sustainability of policy dialogue with civil society on issues related to GEWE."}, {"bbox": [85, 577, 341, 610], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [95, 635, 1166, 851], "category": "Text", "text": "Women and girls comprise around 49% of the total population of Pakistan (2017 census) and they make immense contributions to economic and social development of the country. Despite efforts, gender inequality is of significant concern. The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap 2022 report places Pakistan at 145 out of 146 countries, lowest in South Asia and better than only Afghanistan. From all the sub-indices of the report, Pakistan's rank is highest on political participation as more women than ever before are participating in political activity. Despite considerable gains, women however remain underrepresented. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Pakistan ranks 115th in the list of 190 countries in terms of representation of women. Women representatives overall also fail to ensure the integration of gender concerns in public policy, plans and budgets to advance the GEWE agenda."}, {"bbox": [95, 860, 1166, 996], "category": "Text", "text": "The major factors hindering women's meaningful participation in the governance and political sphere, as members of parliament or local government, candidates, political workers or voters are multi-layered. They include low levels of literacy; patriarchal social norms limiting their mobility, decision making and advancement; financial constraints; lack of opportunities; barriers against participation in political/leadership activities; violence and harassment in the public and private spheres; and disproportionate share of responsibilities for the family and home."}, {"bbox": [95, 1005, 1166, 1459], "category": "Text", "text": "Women's **registration on the electoral rolls** is a necessary condition for their participation in the democratic process. This is in turn concomitant with their access to NICs, a legal requirement for voters to be registered on the electoral roll. Women voters and those belonging to socially marginalised communities (persons with disability, religious and ethnic minorities, and transgender community) continue to face sociocultural, economic and political obstacles to exercising their right. Dependent socio-economic status, lack of awareness, cultural restrictions on mobility and lack of interest are some of the reasons for the gender deficit in electoral rolls. With the coordinated efforts of ECP, NADRA and civil society organisation as many as 10 million women have been added to the electoral rolls since the 2018 general election – reducing the gender gap from 11% (2018) to 8.3% (2023).⁸ However, an estimated 9.65 million women voters are still missing. There is regional variation as well, Balochistan has the highest gender gap (13%) followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (10%), Sindh (9%) and Islamabad (5%). The persistent gender gap in electoral rolls goes beyond institutional weaknesses and voter registration also does not automatically lead to higher **voter turnout**. Institutional and social barriers continue to discourage women to come out to vote, e.g. distance of polling stations, inappropriate infrastructure, restrictions on mobility, societal taboos, lack of knowledge and interest in politics, domestic responsibilities and fear of political violence. Despite this, an increasing interest in the electoral process is reported: the number of women voters almost doubled from the elections in 2008 (4.6 million) and 2018 (8.1 million).⁹ Lack of education and information barriers also deprive women to make rational choices. **Civic and voter education** needs to be a continuous process with a special focus on women and marginalised groups."}, {"bbox": [95, 1468, 1166, 1551], "category": "Text", "text": "Women participation remains heavily restricted by **patriarchal norms of power-sharing and discrimination**. Central to the role of women in governance and democratic processes is their dependence on male counterparts-cum-powerbrokers, which contributes to reducing their agency and power. Gender is not the only ground for"}, {"bbox": [85, 1599, 440, 1622], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ Election Commission of Pakistan. ecp.gov.pk"}, {"bbox": [85, 1622, 612, 1644], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁹ Source: Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA)"}, {"bbox": [1129, 1650, 1146, 1672], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "6"}]