MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the week, local media reported that elders and local authorities in conservative communities would prevent women from voting at the local elections that will take place on May 30 in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“All the women who are present here right now today I thank you and I tell you, go back and encourage other women to vote,” Imran said addressing a women rally.
On Thursday, the Election Commission of Pakistan said that breaching women's right to vote is unconstitutional and contradicts the spirit of Islam. The body told the government of the province to monitor the situation during the election and guarantee women the suffrage rights.
Pakistani women received the right to vote in 1947, when the country obtained sovereignty. Women's rights were jeopardized when the Taliban Islamist movement gained momentum on the border with Afghanistan in the early 2000s. The movement adheres to the Sharia law and is notorious for abuse of women.
