It has been widely reported in the media that women voters were systematically barred from casting their votes in a number of Pakistan's Lower Dir constituencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. So far at least two written agreements have surfaced wherein the local leaders of the contesting parties agreed to bar women from exercising their right to vote on May 11. The Awami National Party (ANP) has indicated that it will take action against those local ANP leaders who allegedly signed this documented agreement. However, we do not expect that any of the signatory parties, which include almost all of the country's leading political and religious parties, will ever lodge a complaint. In that case, citizens must come out and make their voices heard rather than keep silent in the name of religion, culture and traditions. We request the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take note of this open violation of election rules and ethics, and arrange to suspend the results of PK-93 and PK-95. ECP action should not be limited to these two constituencies; the results of all the constituencies of Upper and Lower Dir should be scrutinized for data on the participation of women. If the participation of women is found to be nil or negligible in other areas, it must mean that there are other agreements which have yet to come to light. In that case the results of these constituencies should be declared null and void. Criminal cases should be registered against the culprits. All the candidates who were party to this criminal activity should be barred for life from holding any public office. Again, no political or religious party will demand this action as they are all party to these unholy agreements. It is now up to the ECP to break this long tradition of denying the vote to women in Dir district or to let it be someone else's problem. Masood Khan, Jubail
