General Elections 2013: A Case Study of Low Turnout of Women Voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The Constitution of 1973 offers direct elections under adult franchise in Pakistan. However, it is unfortunate that in every election of Pakistan, the ratio of female voters’ turnout remained low. This research is an attempt to discuss the potential causes of low female voters' turnout in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The study is based on quantitative data survey from six randomly selected districts from sub-geographical areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan including the districts of Lakki Marwat (Far South), Karak (South), Charsadda (Centre), Mardan (Centre), Lower Dir (North) and Chitral (Far North).The study utilizes Chi-square test for statistical inferences of dependent and independent variables. The research argues that the factors responsible for low turnout of women in these districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can be categorized as administrative, cultural, political, and religious. The primary concern of respondents’ administrative obstacles were followed by cultural barrier and then by religious factors. Moreover, gender, the locality (district) and education of respondents cannot be ignored as they are key parameters as well.