Amid calls for equal representation of women in legislatures, 27 female candidates were elected on February 8, 11 more than in 2018.
In the 2024 elections, 882 women ran for seats in national and provincial assemblies. Out of these, 312 had submitted nominations for the NA and 570 for provincial assembly seats, representing a considerable rise in the number of female candidates running in the 2024 elections.
111 political parties nominated 275 women candidates for general elections, accounting for 4.6% of the total of 6,037 candidates fielded.
According to the report, out of 111 political parties, 30 had fielded five or more than 5% women on general seats, four had fielded 4.5% to 4.9% of women candidates on general seats, and the remaining 77 had fielded 4.5% of women candidates on general seats.
In 2018, a record 183 women ran for NA general seats, but only eight won. Four female candidates won in Sindh, three in Punjab, and one in Balochistan. No female candidates won a general election.
In addition, seven candidates won provincial seats in the recent general election, two from Sindh and five from Punjab.
In 2013, there were 135 women candidates, with independent candidates outnumbering party ticket holders by 74 to 61, respectively, but in 2008, there were only 72 women candidates, including 41 party ticket holders and 31 independents.
This time, a record 27 women were elected to all five assemblies: 12 from the National Assembly, 11 from the Punjab Assembly, two from the Sindh Assembly, and one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Four victorious female NA candidates fought on PML-N tickets: Shizra Mansab Kharal (NA-112, Nankanasahib II), Maryam Nawaz Sharif (NA-119, Lahore III), and Begum.
Five PTI-backed candidates were elected: Ayesha Nazir Jutt (NA-156, Vehari I), Umber Majeed (NA-181, Layyah I), Zartaj Gul (NA-185, Dera Ghazi Khan II), Shandana Gulzar Khan (NA-30, Peshawar III), and Aniqa Mehdi (NA-67, Hafizabad), while two PPP candidates, Nafisa Shah (NA-202, Khairpur I) and Shazia Marri (NA-209, Sanghar I), won National Assembly seats from their respective constituencies on party tickets.
One MQM-P candidate, Aasia Ishaque Siddiqui, won from Karachi (NA-232, Korangi I).
Furthermore, out of the 27 successful candidates in 2024, Gul, Shah, Marri, Ashfa Riaz Fatiana, Faryal Talpur, and Azra Fazal Pechuho had previously served as legislators.
