RECLAIMING POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY: A CRITICAL STUDY OF WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN MAINSTREAM POLITICS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Women account for over half of the global population, yet women are politically marginalized and underrepresented in third-world countries. Long-standing conventional structural and socio-economic difficulties hurt their mobility, socialization, political and electoral engagement, and participation in decision-making forums. They cannot make significant changes to socio-political trends because of their limited effectiveness. Their political emancipation was weakened and domesticated by Pakistan's traditional patriarchal mentality and the emergence of Islamic extremism. Although women in Pakistan have overcome the obstacles above and increased their representation in Parliament, they still have a bit of a way to go before actively participating in the decision-making process. Over time, there has been a growing realization that the only way to achieve a gender-balanced society that addresses women's issues is to encourage greater participation of women in governance structures. There are significant differences in women's political participation in diverse parts of the globe. This study examines the reasons for the increase in the number of women in legislatures in other parts of the world, focusing on South Asia and presenting the case of Pakistan. This study focuses on the political participation of Pakistani women. The Pakistani Parliament in 2002 now shows the highest level of feminine representation in the country’s history. The study examines how Pakistani women benefit from their numerical superiority in Parliament, whether women are "agents of change" or "agents of change," and whether these alterations are driven by women or triggered by external factors. This study examines the challenges women face in Pakistan in overcoming political marginalization and recommends creating a more comprehensive and representative civilization.