GILGIT: For the first time in the history of the tribal district of Diamer in the Northern Areas, two women were elected to the Diamer District Council on Friday, despite strong opposition from the clerics and the tribal jirga, official sources said.
Diamer Deputy Commissioner Abul Hameed said that there was stiff opposition from the jirga and the clerics but Rahila from Chilas and Saeeda from Tangeer tehsil had been declared members of the Diamer District Council. Hameed said that the single seat reserved for women in the Northern Areas Legislative Council was filled in February this year but the womens' seats in the municipal councils and the union council still stood vacant. Sources said that the elections for womens' seats in Diamer were supposed to take place two years ago but were delayed after fierce opposition from clerics and the tribal jirga. Once the new date for elections was announced, at least five women filed their candidature, and the nomination papers of two of them were rejected by the returning officer. Sources added that earlier a group of jirga members and clerics had warned the contesting women of social boycott if they did not withdraw their candidatures and they also approached the families of the contestants to dissuade them from participating in the elections. |