In the 2018 elections, as per the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the number of registered women voters in District Kech’s four constituencies was 96,636, while the turnout was only 42,776 – less than 50%. However, the whole population of District Kech’s women by May 31, 2023, was recorded as 118,510.

As observed in the last local body elections, a large number of people participated in campaigning for the elections to be held in February 2024. However, this still presents a challenging scenario for women to participate in the elections for various reasons.

A lack of election awareness is among the causes of a weak turnout of women in elections in Balochistan, especially in Kech. This is particularly true in areas where people are unaware of the significance of elections and the value of their votes. People in such areas rarely participate in elections due to a lack of belief in the election-campaigning parties. “Why should I cast my vote when nothing is going to change if the faces in government change?” says Roozatoon (27), complaining about the lengthy and disturbing procedure of casting votes.

Ghous Bakhsh Baloch, Assistant Director of Media Coordination and Outreach, states that polling station staff will be guided to give special treatment to women voters on a priority basis. This ensures they can cast votes easily and comfortably. “We are arranging all the necessary management to ensure the elections are smooth, particularly focusing on better facilities for women in polling station staff and voting duration,” he explains.

“On the day of elections, women have other duties as well, which they need to perform,” says Zobaida Jalal, suggesting that transportation facilities and getting their electoral roles in serial numbers would help curb the issue. She observes that women have to look after their entire family, making it tougher for them due to social restrictions to leave them at midday to do something, which men have more relaxation and time.

Women in the overall province have significant issues concerning their household challenges. The long queues and remote polling stations further reduce their chances of casting votes. In remote stations, there is no fixed or managed time, making it difficult for voters to come at the exact time to cast their votes. The lack of using technological tools to cast votes results in the traditional method, which is given almost no significance in the present.

“I prepared myself for casting my vote, but then I had to wait and wait for my turn for long, which unfortunately did not come,” says Roozatoon (30). Consequently, she had to quit the wait and come back home where she was to do other household chores as she was a housewife. She waited for more than three hours in the scorching sun but had to turn back due to the process. “We have several other works at the same time as well,” she says, almost downtrodden.

Tahira Khurshed, Central Committee member of Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch’s National Party, believes that the society has not progressed to the extent where women are seen equally as part of the society, same as men. “Our men are yet to learn tolerance and make space for women to contribute to societal well-being,” she says. She believes such an attitude towards women played a key role in distancing them from participating in elections. “We are yet to learn civic behavior in the actual sense.”

Another important factor is a thin understanding of local traditions. In the present-day Baloch society, one rarely sends women to stand out in lines for something like voting, saying that it goes against the traditions of their people. This significantly involves the use of traditional polling stations and issues regarding women counting on the votes.

Raj Bibi, 25, (name changed owing to family pressures), seconds Khurshed, adding that she was of the opinion to cast her vote until her father restrained her, saying that he would not allow her to go down the streets for a vote. “He taunted me that men were casting their votes, which he believed was enough, and there was no need for me to add mine,” she told me, saying that societal pressures may not be the same for everyone, but plenty of women have the issue of coming out for a vote in the region.

Zobaida, while supporting the argument, says it is even harder for a woman candidate to participate in an election. “It takes double for a woman, especially an independent candidate, to campaign for herself from village to village,” she says. The candidate has to meet every man and woman separately, which toughens her struggle. “The problem is even posed as such for women voters who rarely convince their families to allow them to cast their votes,” she concludes. This significantly contributes to women’s absence in elections, both as candidates and as voters.

In fact, in the whole Kech district, one finds no separate polling booths for women, which draws the attention of men to counter women’s participation in casting votes. If a woman is to cast her vote, she has to wait side by side, though in a different line, with men to wait until her turn comes for voting. Not too many women obey the given system and demand a change in the election set-up.