Women Parliamentarians

Abstract

This article is based on an assessment of the performance of women parliamentarians who entered the national legislature in Pakistan on a gender quota. Despite structural and functional barriers women legislators face, they have shown agency in pushing the boundaries of politics by articulating women’s voices and concerns in the functioning and in the legislative business of the parliament. The article argues that in the absence of women’s own power base, descriptive representation through gender quota does not lead to substantive representation. However, linkages of women’s legislators with the women’s movement and networking for collective voice and capacity enhancement may be identified as key milestones in the pathway to women’s political empowerment.