Beyond quotas

A NEW report by the Free and Fair Election Network challenges the notion that women in parliament play a limited role. It finds that female senators accounted for 20pc of the Senate’s agenda during the 2025-2026 parliamentary year, exceeding 18pc share of seats. Not only did they contribute beyond their numerical strength, they did so across a range of policy areas, from economic management to national security and taxation. This is anything but token participation. On a per capita basis, women outperformed their male counterparts, submitting an average of 12 agenda items each compared to 11 by men. Their legislative priorities debunk the stereotype that women legislators are confined to ‘women’s issues’ — over half their agenda focused on national-level concerns. In short, where space exists, women parliamentarians are not just present, but substantive contributors. Yet the report also reveals the limits of this progress. The Senate’s Gender Responsiveness Score stands at 0.9, indicating that women’s legislative initiatives receive less attention than those of their male colleagues. More tellingly, most female senators fall into the “rarely spoke” category in plenary debates.

But the deeper constraint lies outside the chamber. Women’s presence in parliament remains overwhelmingly quota-driven. Of the current cohort, only one woman has been elected on a general seat; the rest entered through reserved quotas. Leadership positions — from chairman to opposition leader — remain male-dominated. This is a failure of political parties. Parties control the pipeline of power. By allocating most general seat tickets to men, they cap women’s political growth, confining them to the margins of electoral politics while benefiting from their performance within legislatures. This exposes a contradiction: women are trusted to legislate, scrutinise and represent — but not to contest and win. If this imbalance is to be corrected, reform must begin at the party level. Political parties need to move beyond compliance with quotas and actively promote women as candidates on general seats. This requires more than symbolic inclusion; it demands investment in candidate development, equitable ticket distribution and pathways into party leadership. The Fafen report shows Pakistani women in parliament have shown competence, range and commitment. The question is no longer whether they can perform. It is whether the political system will allow them to lead.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2026

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