Participation of Women Members of the National Assembly of Pakistan in Assembly Debates and their Role in Legislating on Public Policy and Budget

Abstract

This article examines the participation of women Members of the National Assembly of Pakistan in assembly debates and their role in legislating on public policy and budget. Therefore, the study attempts at answering the questions: ‘what role have women parliamentarians been playing to legislate on public policy and budget?’ and ‘how have they been influencing and (re)shaping the process of budgeting and public policy formulation through assembly debates?’ The questions are answered through an archival research i.e. archival data (assembly debates, official files and reports, etc.). The collected data is analyzed through qualitative content analyses. The findings suggest that the women legislators had presented their viewpoints, highlighting the significance of public policies including the issues of health, food, water, energy, inflation and price hikes and importance of well-approached and balanced budget. Their contributions had expanded the discussion on public as well as national issues. Moreover, women members of National Assembly had the significantly impacted in determining public policies and for efficient budget policy during the five years of 13^th National Assembly of Pakistan. This study determines the significance of gender-inclusive governance and the favorable results that may be attained by acknowledging women’s opinions and viewpoints.