Female MPs attended Parliament more than male counterparts: FAFEN

Female lawmakers attended more Parliamentary proceedings than their male counterparts during 2017-18.

A recently published FAFEN report compared the on-floor performances of female and male lawmakers in both Houses of the Parliament. The report showed that female MPs actively participated in the proceedings through regular attendance and substantive contribution to parliamentary business, particularly in the National Assembly during the reporting periods May 2017 to February 2018 for the National Assembly and March 2017 to March 2018 for the Senate.

Currently, women constitute 20% of the Parliament with 19 seats in the Senate and 70 in the National Assembly.

The FAFEN report stated that the National Assembly held 75 sittings while the Senate held 100 sittings during their respective reporting periods.

In the National Assembly, a female lawmaker attended on average 50 (67%) sittings whereas a male lawmaker attended on average 42 (56%) sittings. Meanwhile, in the Senate, a female lawmaker attended on average 64 (64%) sittings whereas a male lawmaker attended on average 59 (59%) sittings.

According to the report, the most regular female lawmaker in the National Assembly was PML-N’s Kiran Haider who attended 100% sittings while 55 (79%) female lawmakers attended 38 (50%) or more sittings. The most regular female lawmaker in the Senate, PkMAP’s Gul Bushra, attended 92 of 100 sittings while 13 (68%) women senators attended more than half of the sittings. 

Further, the report highlighted that female lawmakers in collaboration with their male counterparts contributed to 39% of parliamentary business in the National Assembly and Senate during 2017-18.

The women parliamentarians contributed 36% of the business transacted by both Houses of the Parliament in their respective parliamentary years. They also supported their male counterparts in sponsoring a three-percent additional agenda.

A total 5,654 agenda items were included in the parliamentary orders of the day during the reporting period.

The percentage of women’s contribution to parliamentary business in the National Assembly was equivalent to that of men, i.e. 49%. In the Senate, women sponsored 15% parliamentary business individually and three percent jointly.

Further, female members of the National Assembly initiated 31 (32%) of 98 bills on their own and 22 (22%) bills in collaboration with their male colleagues.

Female lawmakers exclusively sponsored 36 (50%) of 72 resolutions in the National Assembly and collaborated with their male counterparts for moving 16 additional (22%) resolutions. Similarly, female lawmakers in the Senate sponsored 13 (9%) of 145 bills on their own and five in partnership with male lawmakers, and moved 15 (15%) of 99 resolutions.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senators Muddasir Sehar Kamran, Sherry Rehman and Rubina Khalid sponsored the highest number of resolutions in the Senate. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Aisha Syed sponsored eight while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Shireen Mazari sponsored seven resolutions in the National Assembly.

The report noted that female MPs also kept a close vigil on the government by asking questions and raising Calling Attention Notices.

They asked 1,595 (50%) questions and moved 64 (86%) Calling Attention Notices (CANs) in the National Assembly. Whereas, in the Senate, the questions and CANs moved by them amounted to 241 (16%) and 26 (25%).

Moreover, female lawmakers sponsored 36 (80%) motions under Rule 259 in the National Assembly and 48 (42%) motions under Rule 218 in the Senate.

As per the report, on average, a female lawmaker sponsored 23 agenda items individually in both Houses of Parliament whereas a male lawmaker sponsored on average 10 agenda items.

In the National Assembly, a female lawmaker introduced on average 25 agenda items, in comparison to six by her male colleague, the report further showed. In the Senate, a female lawmaker sponsored on average 17 agenda items as compared to 21 agenda items per male lawmaker.