FROM the recent state elections in India, one peculiar development in the political landscape has been seen that remains quite absent from our political scenes the women vote banl(. This is not independently targeted and mainstream political parties in Pal(istan do not explicitly focus in their manifestos about strategies to mobilise support within this particular block by carving out enough space for more than halfofthenationalpopulation.

Regardless of the proportion of women in the decision-mal(ing body, political parties in India design specific strategies to appeal to women voters by offering them monthly or yearly fixed income.

In Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised cash and freedom to women and the same was promised by Congress and others.

Such a trend has just not emerged in Pal(istan`s political spectrum and it wouldnot be unfair to say that women vote block consciousness does not even exist here.

The reasons are obvious. The dominant political force remains the influential families that never promote free thinl(ing, empowerment and individualism.

Moreover, political parties are often treated as sole proprietorship rather than an organised group with a common vision for society at large. Democracy within political parties is the only way forward.

Rahmat Akbar Gilgit