July 6, 2021: Situated 12 kilometers from district Swat, in a narrow valley in the foothills of the Himalayas is Kwaro Shahgram village. The undulating landscape of the valley along with long distances make National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Registration Centers (NRCs) inaccessible for the local women. Furthermore, with majority of the male population working as daily wagers, accompanying women to these NRCs becomes difficult for the men, resulting in a registration-population deficit for women and directly impacting voter turnout.
In a bid to increase gender mainstreaming of women and transgender people in political and electoral processes, CIP regional members executed key advocacy activities with community elders to identify unregistered women. Through this process, 130 unregistered women were identified and the community elders were mobilized to garner support in the facilitation process as well as to sensitize them regarding importance of National Identity Card (NIC) and voter registration. This was followed by a meeting with Mr. Farid Ullah Khattak, the District Election Commissioner (DEC) of Swat, on July 23, 2021. CIP partners shared their concerns regarding low voter turnout of women and efforts being undertaken for their facilitation. In that regard, the DEC was requested for the provision of a Mobile Registration Van (MRV), to help women overcome the accessibility issues faced by them during NIC registration.
The request was accepted by the DEC, who forwarded the email shared by CIP members to the NADRA Regional Head Officer (RHO) in Peshawar, Muhammad Khursheed. The request for MRV provision was accepted for three days and CIP members, with the help of community elders, finalized Shahgram filling station as a registration camp. From August 2 to August 4, 2021, the registration camp was established and in these three days, 123 women and three transgender people were registered.
