ISLAMABAD: Amid persistent challenges to women representation due to unresolved electoral controversies, women parliamentarians demonstrated commitment and productivity in shaping legislative priorities, influencing policy discourse and parliamentary actions during 2024-25.

This was the view put forward by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen), in its `Women Parliamentarians Performance Report 2024-2025`.

The study found that despite constituting only 17pc of parliament`s current membership (69), women legislators contributed nearly half (49pc) of the parliamentary agenda `a historic high` since 2015-16.

In the National Assembly and Senate, women legislators initiated 55pc and 31pc of the agenda, respectively.

`Women legislators championed a diverse range of public concerns, including institutional accountability, climate resilience, economic inequality, and infrastructural challenges such asenergy pricing and internet accessibility.

Their legislative priorities centered on strengthening human rights protections for marginalised groups, advancing healthcare reforms, safeguarding labour rights, and modernising governance.

`Prominently, women legislators proposed amendments to criminal laws to reinforce safeguards for women, children, and minorities, alongside procedural reforms aimed at enhancing inclusivity in parliamentary processes.

Collectively, these efforts reflect a nuanced understanding of governance that intertwines social justice with institutional efficacy, positioning women legislators as pivotal architects of Pakistan`s legislative future,` the report pointed out.

It claimed that women legislators contributed a significantly high share of parliamentary business.

In 2024-25, the National Assembly addressed 67pc of women-sponsored agenda items, down from 69pc in 202223 and 81pc in 2021-22. Similarly, the Senate addressed 77pc of women`s agenda items, a decline from 85pc in 2022-23 and 94pc in 2021-22.

However, this trend reflects a broader stagnation in parliamentary efficiency rather than gender-based disparities, as items sponsored by their male counterparts experienced a comparable decline. In NA, 83pc of jointly-sponsored items were addressed, compared to 67pc of those initiated by women lawmakers and 66pc by men. The Senateexhibited a similar pattern, addressing 80pc of jointly-sponsored business and 77pc of both womenand men-sponsored agenda items were addressed, it stated.

Agenda items `Women legislators individually contributed more agenda items than their male counterparts. Each female MNA introduced an average 17 agenda items, `over five times the male average of three per legislator`. In Senate, women proposed 11 items each, nearly double the male average of six.

Notably, all except five female MNAs and one female senator actively participated in parliamentary proceedings by contributing agenda and/or engaging in debates, it stated.

Women parliamentarians sponsored 44pc private members` bills (69 out of total 156), 49pc private members` resolutions (27 out of 55), 44pc calling attention notices (76 out of 137), 42pc motions for discussion on public interest issues (25 out of 60), 68pc proposals for amendments to the rules of procedure in their respective houses (13 out of 19), and nearly half (49pc or 872 out of 1,784) of all parliamentary questions.

Female MNAs contributed 55pc agenda 52pc independently and 3pc in collaboration with male counterparts of the lower house. Similarly, female senators contributed 34pc agenda 31 percent on their own and one percent in collaboration with male colleagues of the upper house.The parliamentarians` attendance patterns in the plenary proceedings of both houses further highlighted women`s dedication to legislation. Female MNAs maintained consistently higher participation rates than their male counterparts, attending 70 sittings (75pc of 93 sittings) on average compared to 59 sittings (63pc of 93 sittings) by male MNAs across 13 sessions held during the year.

In Senate, women`s attendance fluctuated slightly, surpassing or matching male colleagues in six of 11 sessions and trailing in five. Despite these variations, female senators averaged 41 (67c) of 61 sittings, marginally exceeding the 39 sittings (64pc) recorded by their male counterparts.

No participation In all, 59 MNAs 54 men and five women did not participate in any business during the sittings. Also, four senators three male and one female did not participate in any parliamentary business.

Among MNAs with zero participation, the average attendance was 54 sittings, whereas female MNAs with no participation attended an average of 45 sittings out of 93.

This suggests that some MNAs were physically present in the house but did not engage in any proceedings, making their role passive. Additionally, the attendance of non-participating senators was also notably low.