Islamabad, March 9, 2025: Despite persistent challenges facing women representation due to unresolved electoral controversies, women parliamentarians exhibited remarkable commitment and productivity in shaping legislative priorities, influencing policy discourse, and contributing to parliamentary actions during 2024–2025, says the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Women Parliamentarians Performance Report (2024-25), released in connection with International Women’s Day.
Despite constituting only 17 percent of the Parliament’s current membership (69 of total 399 – 314 MNAs and 85 Senators), women legislators contributed nearly half (49 percent) of the parliamentary agenda – a historic high since 2015-16. Women Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) initiated 55 percent of the agenda in the lower house, while women Senators accounted for 31 percent in the upper house.
Women legislators championed a diverse range of public concerns, including institutional accountability, climate resilience, economic inequality, and infrastructural challenges such as energy pricing and internet accessibility. Their legislative priorities centered on strengthening human rights protections for marginalized groups, advancing healthcare reforms, safeguarding labor rights, and modernizing governance. Prominently, women legislators proposed amendments to criminal laws to reinforce safeguards for women, children, and minorities, alongside procedural reforms aimed at enhancing inclusivity in parliamentary processes. Collectively, these efforts reflect a nuanced understanding of governance that intertwines social justice with institutional efficacy, positioning women legislators as pivotal architects of Pakistan’s legislative future.
While women legislators contributed a significantly high share of parliamentary business, the rate at which their agenda items were addressed declined compared to previous years. In 2024-25, the National Assembly addressed 67 percent of women-sponsored agenda items, down from 69 percent in 2022–23 and 81 percent in 2021–22. Similarly, the Senate addressed 77 percent of women’s agenda items, a decline from 85 percent in 2022-23 and 94 percent in 2021-22. However, this trend reflects a broader stagnation in parliamentary efficiency rather than gender-based disparities, as items sponsored by their male counterparts experienced a comparable decline. In the National Assembly, 83 percent of jointly-sponsored items were addressed, compared to 67 percent of those initiated by women lawmakers and 66 percent by men. The Senate exhibited a similar pattern, addressing 80 percent of jointly-sponsored business and 77 percent of both women- and men-sponsored agenda items were addressed.
Women legislators individually contributed more agenda items than their male counterparts. Each female MNA introduced an average 17 agenda items – over five times the male average of three per legislator. In the Senate, women proposed 11 items each, nearly double the male average of six. Notably, all except five female MNAs and one female Senator actively participated in parliamentary proceedings by contributing agenda and/or engaging in debates.
The parliamentarians attendance patterns in the plenary proceedings of both Houses further highlighted women dedication to the legislative work. Female MNAs maintained consistently higher participation rates than their male counterparts, attending 70 sittings (75 percent of 93 sittings) on average compared to 59 sittings (63 percent of 93 sittings) by male MNAs across 13 sessions held during the reporting year. In the Senate, women’s attendance fluctuated slightly, surpassing or matching male colleagues in six of 11 sessions and trailing in five. Despite these variations, female Senators averaged 41 sittings (67 percent of 61 sittings), marginally exceeding the 39 sittings (64 percent of 61 sittings) recorded by their men counterparts.
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