Upper Dir, December 12, 2023: FAFEN’s Regional Network – Malakand Democratic Network held a meeting with community members in Usherai village of Upper Dir. The meeting was conducted to discuss improving women’s access to polling stations. The Usherai village was chosen due to its low female voter turnout (less than 30 percent) in the 2018 elections. This targeted meeting aimed not only to understand the challenges faced by local women regarding polling station access but also to document and share these findings with the District Election Commissioner (DEC) Upper Dir. This information will inform the final polling station schemes potentially increasing the chances of establishing new stations in the area and ultimately enhancing women’s access to voting.

Additionally, the Network assured the community members to facilitate the community in filing applications for new polling stations according to the established election rules, directly with the RO/DRO officer.