By Fazal Khaliq
MINGORA: speakers said that women were half of the population and no nation in the world without their help could form civilised and peaceful form of the government.
They were speaking in a ceremony to mark the National Voters’ Day organized by Election Commission of Pakistan in collaboration with the Government Post Graduate Girls College Saidu Sharif Swat. Large number of students, teachers, civil society members and officials from line departments participated in the ceremony.
DC Swat Sqaib Raza Aslam, Regional Election Commissioner Javed Iqbal, district Swat Election Commissioner Ijaz Ahmad, principal Post Graduate Jahanzeb College Swat professor Abdul Wahab, principal Government Post Graduate Girls College Dr Sabiha Nazli, principal Government Girls College Kanju Farida Khanum, vice principal Government Post Graduate Girls College Nargis Ara, professor Fouzia Wahab, professor Tabassum Majeed were among the participants.
A speech competition titled “The ballot is stronger than the bullet, use your right to vote and make your country stronger” was also held in the event in which girl students took part.
Deputy Commissioner Swat Saqib Raza Aslam while addressing the gathering said that the nations in the west only became developed and civilized when their women started taking part in democratic process. “Men alone can never provide better system to their nation until their women contribute equally in it. Today, only those nations are prosperous, happy and peaceful where women equally take part in all sectors,” he said. He appreciated the performances of the girl students and announced two million rupees for the overhead bridge connecting the two blocks of the Government Post Graduate Girls College Saidu Sharif.
Regional Election Commissioner Javed Iqbal said that Election Commission of Pakistan was constantly improving the electoral process. He said that women played important role in the democratic process and without them it was incomplete. “Girl students should not only register their votes but also raise awareness among their mothers and sisters to register their votes and use it in the elections,” he said.
District Swat Election Commissioner Ijaz Ahmad said that the Election Commission of Pakistan had been holding December 7 as the national voters’ day since 2016 aiming to raise awareness about the importance of vote. “Women must take part in the electoral process and help forming in better government in the country,” he said.
Earlier principal Government Post Graduate Girls College welcomed all the guests and said that men and women had equal rights and importance and they collectively could improve every sector of the country.
Students of the girls’ college also presented a skit highlighting the importance of women’s participation in voting which received high applause from all the participants.
Prizes and shields were distributed among the top three position holders in the speech competition.
