Gender Quotas Database
Pakistan
Southern Asia
Single / Lower House
Majlis-E-Shoora/National Assembly
| Total seats | 309 |
| Total women | 50 |
| Percentage of women | 16% |
| Gender Quota target | 18% |
| Election year | 2024 |
| Electoral system | Parallel |
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Constitution |
1) There shall be [three hundred and thirty-six] seats for members in the National Assembly, including seats reserved for women and non-Muslims. … 3) The seats in the National Assembly referred to in clause (1), except the seats mentioned in clause (4), shall be allocated to each Province and the Federal Capital as under: Province/Region: Balochistan General Seats: 16 Women Seats: 4 Total Seats: 20 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa General Seats: 45 Women Seats: 10 Total Seats: 55 Punjab General Seats: 141 Women Seats: 32 Total Seats: 173 Sindh General Seats: 61 Women Seats: 14 Total Seats: 75 Federal Capital General Seats: 3 Women Seats: 0 Total Seats: 3 Total: General Seats: 266 Women Seats: 60 Total Seats: 326 … 6) For the purpose of election to the National Assembly, - … (b) each Province shall be a single constituency for all seats reserved for women which are allocated to the respective Provinces under clause (3); … (d) members to the seats reserved for women which are allocated to a Province under clause (3) shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats secured by each political party from the Province concerned in the National Assembly: Provided that for the purpose of this paragraph the total number of general seats won by a political party shall include the independent returned candidate or candidates who may duly join such political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of the returned candidates; and |
| Electoral law |
Selection for elective offices.—A political party shall make the selection of candidates for elective offices, including membership of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and Provincial Assemblies, through a transparent and democratic procedure and while making the selection of candidates on general seats shall ensure at least five per cent representation of women candidates. |
|
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | Not applicable | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No |
There is no direction in any rule and statue in this regard See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Upper House
Majlis-E-Shoora/Senate
| Total seats | 85 |
| Total women | 16 |
| Percentage of women | 19% |
| Gender Quota target | 18% |
| Election year | 2024 |
| Electoral system | Indirectly elected |
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Constitution |
1) The Senate shall consist of [ninety-six] members, of whom,— … (c) two on general seats, and one woman and one technocrat including aalim shall be elected from the Federal Capital in such manner as the President may, by Order, prescribe; (d) four women shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly; … (Article 59) |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Gender Quota target | 16% |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Constitution |
1) Each Provincial Assembly shall consist of general seats and seats reserved for women and non-Muslims as specified herein below:- Province/Region: Balochistan General Seats: 51 Women Seats: 11 Non-Muslims Seats: 3 Total Seats: 65 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa General Seats: 115 Women Seats: 26 Non-Muslims Seats: 4 Total Seats: 145 Punjab General Seats: 297 Women Seats: 66 Non-Muslims Seats: 8 Total Seats: 371 Sindh General Seats: 130 Women Seats: 29 Non-Muslims Seats: 9 Total Seats: 168 1A) The seats for the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, referred to in clause (1), include sixteen general seats, four seats for women and one seat for non-Muslims in respect of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas: … 3) For the purpose of election to a Provincial Assembly,— … (b) each Province shall be a single constituency for all seats reserved for women and non-Muslims allocated to the respective Provinces under clause (1); (c) the members to fill seats reserved for women and non-Muslims allocated to a Province under clause (1) shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of the total number of general seats secured by each political party in the Provincial Assembly: (Article 106) |
| Electoral law |
The provinces of Sindh and Punjab adopted local government laws in 2013 with reduced numbers of seats reserved for women: 1 out of 9 in the directly-elected first tier of local government in Sindh, and two in every 13 in Punjab. At higher, indirectly elected tiers, Sindh law provides for a 22% of reserved seats for women and Punjab has legislated for about 10% of reserved seats for women at that level. Legislation is under preparation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtun khwa, with proposals to set the minimum number of seats reserved for women at 33%, which carries the same standard that previously applied to all local councils in all provinces, as set by the Devolution of Power Plan (DPP), adopted in 2000 and expired in 2009. |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official Name | Details, Quota provisions |
|---|---|---|
| No data available. | ||
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional information
Pakistan is a federation with local, provincial and national tiers of government. Constitutions from 1956 until 1985 all provided for some reserved seats for women at the national and sub-national levels. In the 1956 Constitution, a minimum of 3 per cent of seats were reserved for women at all levels of government, including national and provincial assemblies, the Senate and local councils. The constitutions which followed, in 1962 and 1973, reserved seats for women—2.75 per cent in the National Assembly and 5 per cent in each of the provincial assemblies—and were implemented through indirect elections. In 1985, reserved seats for women in the National Assembly were increased to 10 per cent for a ten-year period or three general elections, whichever came first (Rai 2005: 175). This provision expired in 1988, and for elections held in the 1990s the number of women in parliament did not increase beyond 4 per cent (Reyes 2003: 42).
The national consultations in the Ministry of Women and Development, the National Campaign for Restoration of Women’s Reserved Seats, the Report of the Commission of Inquiry for Women, and the National Plan for Action all argued for new reservations during the late 1990s and early 2000s, thus providing for the 30 per cent quota of reserved seats. At the time, 11 political parties endorsed this initiative.
The current system of reservation of seats for the parliament and provincial assemblies came into force in 2002. The Devolution of Power Plan (DPP) in 2000, introduced under the military government of General Pervez Musharraf, established a uniform system of local government bodies in all four provinces of the country. The DPP, with the adoption of the Local Government Ordinance Act of 2001, guaranteed a 33 per cent quota for women at all three levels of local councils: the district (zila), sub-district (tehsil) and union councils at the village level. Under this system, according to one account, 42,049 women came into local government (Rai 2005: 175).
This system of local government was operational until 2009, and since the election of the new civilian government in 2008, the next phase of decentralization and local government development is under consideration. Local government elections which were initially planned to take place in 2009 have been postponed. In anticipation of the next local government elections at the end of 2013, the provinces of Sindh and Punjab have adopted new Local Government Acts in 2013, showing a decrease in the number of reserved seats, as compared to the 2001 Act.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Constitution of Pakistan (amended through 2019) - Link
- Election Laws (amended through 2024 a, b) - Link
- Local Government Election Laws - Link
OTHER SOURCES:
- Parliament of Pakistan - National Assembly/ Senate
- Electoral Commission - Link
- Women's rights enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan, which time has destroyed 2022 - Link
- Senate of Pakistan, ‘List of Women Senators’
- International IDEA, Political Parties in South Asia: The Challenge of Change, South Asia Regional Report (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2008);
- Rai, S. M., ‘Reserved Seats in South Asia: A Regional Perspective’, in J. Ballington and A. Kazam (eds),Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. A Revised Edition (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2005);
- Reyes, S. L., ‘Quotas in Pakistan: A Case Study’, in The Implementation of Quotas: Asian Experiences,Quota Report Series no. 1 (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2003)
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Pakistan on iKNOW Politics
- Global Village Space, 2018. "Is Pakistan's Gender Quota in Parliament Showing Results?", Published 4 July 2018, Accessed 26 September.
- Pattan Development Organisation. 2004. Voices of Women Councilors, Islamabad: Pattan Development Organisation.
- Graff, I. Women’s Representation in Pakistani Politics – the Quota Systems under the Musharraf Regime, paper presented at the International Conference on Women and Politics in Asia, Halmstad, June 2003.
- Reyes, S. L. 2003. Quotas in Pakistan: A Case Study, in International IDEA The Implementation of Quotas: Asian Experiences. Quota Workshop Report Series no. 1, Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 42-47.
- Ali, R. 2002. A Distant Dream. Weekly Independent. September 26.
- Bari, F. 2002. Women's Representation in Legislatures.The Way Forward. Islamabad: Ministry of Women and Develoment.
- Reyes, S. L. 2002. Quotas in Pakistan: A Case Study. Paper presented at IDEA Regional Workshop on the Implementation of Quotas: Asian Experiences. Jakarta, Indonesia, September 2002.
- Bari, S. & Khan, B.H. 2001. Local Government Elections 2001. Phase III, IV & V, Islamabad: Pattan Development Organization.
- Ali, S. 2000. ‘Law, Islam and the Women’s Movement in Pakistan’, in S.M. Rai (ed.) International Perspectives on Gender and Democratisation, Basingstoke: Macmillan, pp. 41–63.
- Sardar, A. S. 2000. Law, Islam and the Women's Movement in Pakistan. Shirin M. Rai (ed.). International Perspectives on Gender and Democratisation. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 41-63.
- Afzal, N. 1999. Women and Parliament in Pakistan. 1947-1977. Lahore: Pakistan Study Centre, University of the Punjab.
- Farida, S., Zia, A. & Warraich, S. 1998. Women in Politics: Participation and Representation in Pakistan with update 1993-1997. Lahore: Shirkat Gah.
- Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Centre. 1998. Shaping Women's Lives: Laws, Practices, & Strategies in Pakistan. Report.
- Suhrawardy, I. S. 1998. From Purdah to Parliament. Karachi: Oxford University Press.
- Report of The Commission of Inquiry for Women: Pakistan. 1997. Islamabad: Stationery, Farms, and Publications Depot.
- Sarwar, B. 1997. Pakistan: Feuding Politicians Keep Women Out of Parliament. Interpress Service, June 13.
- Yadav, R. 1997. More Than Just a Token. News India, May 15.
- Nazrul, I. M. 1990. Pakistan: A Study in National Integration. Lahore: Vanguard Books.
- Khawar, M. & Shaheed, F. 1987. Women of Pakistan: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back? Lahore: Vanguard Books.
- Pakistan Election Commission, http://www.ecp.gov.pk
- Pakistan Parliament website, http://www.na.gov.pk/
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