Assessment of woman political participation in 2018 Elections and its comparison with elections of 2002, 2008 and 2013

Abstract

Women’s political participation strengthens their political as well as their empowerment in other fields of life. The discourse of women’s political participation is a matter of concern in the academic circles across the world. The main aim of this study is to provide a complete analysis of changing orientation in the women politics of Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. This study focuses on the effect of political reforms on women’s political participation in Pakistan. Furthermore, this study focuses on the effect of political reforms on women’s public and civic engagements which further contribute to their political participation. The main question that guides the study is that how can political participation of women transform the public sphere of KP, and how would then the transformed public sphere (i.e., the greater political participation of women) enhance democratic politics of KP? Feminist theories i.e., Liberal Feminist Theory and Radical Feminist Theories are used as theoretical framework in this study to examine the question of the effect of political reforms on women’s political participation. The study finds positive effects of the political reforms on women, like awareness about these reforms and civic engagements. The study recommends that women political participation could be enhanced by improving their level of education.