VOTER EDUCATION TO DIMINISH BARRIERS TO

WOMEN VOTING IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

ELECTIONS IN PUNJAB AND SINDH

Strengthening Electoral & Legislative Processes (UNDP Pakistan)

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 Submission Date: March 2016

DFID Programme/Project no.  204-604-106

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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................7
COMMUNITY BASED ENGAGEMENT.......................................................................................16
BROADCAST AND PRINT MEDIA...............................................................................................43
OUTDOOR MEDIA..........................................................................................................................53
DIGITAL MEDIA.............................................................................................................................64
VALUE FOR MONEY.....................................................................................................................72
LESSONS LEARNED.......................................................................................................................74
Annexures

Annex 1: UNDP Field Reports

Annex 2: CSO Reports

Annex 3: Media Reports

Annex 4: Material Distribution Data

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report details and analyses the effectiveness of the voter education activities undertaken
by UNDP under the grant provided by the UK Government’s Conflict Stability and Security
Fund (CSSF). Each aspect of the campaign is assessed in terms of value for money, the
efficacy of media and dissemination channels that were chosen to reach target audiences, and
the relevance and impact of campaign messages. The final section maps out a series of
lessons learned to inform future programming, and outlines administrative and legal reforms
that need to be introduced in order to remove the barriers that exist which prevent women
from exercising their basic democratic right of participating in elections.

The data informing the assessment, which is detailed in this document, is drawn from various
sources: UNDP field monitoring reports during the campaign period; weekly, interim and
final reports submitted by civil society partners conducting community based engagement
activities; and reports submitted by our media partners. Copies of all of these reports can be
found in the Annexes attached to this document.

At the time of writing, the, the voter turnout figures for Punjab, and the gender disaggregated
figures from the local government elections in Sindh, have yet to be published, despite the
fact that the elections were held over three months ago. As such, it is not possible at this stage
to use gender disaggregated turnout data from the 2013 general elections as a rudimentary
baseline for comparative analysis. While the publication of gender disaggregated turnout
figures, broken down by district, will provide a useful indicator of the campaign’s
effectiveness (especially in districts which had less than 45% turnout among women in the
2013 general elections), it is important to also recognize that this indicator, on its own, is
insufficient as a measure of campaign performance, and impact.

Elections are complex, and local elections even more so. Motivation to vote in elections is
influenced by a myriad of factors and as such it would be problematic to try and establish a
direct correlation, or cause and effect dynamic, between our intervention and changes in the
patterns of women’s turnout in Punjab and Sindh. Voter education is critical to increasing
voter turnout among women, as the data from our post-campaign assessments demonstrate,
but so too are prevailing security conditions in local communities, the appeal of local
candidates, the attitude of community elders towards the concept of women voting, and the
resonance of policy platforms and campaign promises propagated by political parties.

Given the range of independent variables that have an impact on turnout levels, any analysis
of the effectiveness of voter education campaigns, especially one which lasted for
approximately two months, needs to broaden the aperture for measuring its success beyond
simply increases in turnout in target districts. As such, measures of effectiveness need to look
at: the efficacy of communications channels that were chosen to reach target audiences;
levels of engagement with campaign messages among those who came into contact with the
messages; the cultural relevance of campaign activities, especially in conservative, rural
areas; qualitative insights into the potential for campaign messages to gradually change
hardwired male attitudes towards women voting; vindication of the theory of change in terms

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of evidence that points to appetite and demand for a similar programming intervention, on a
broader scale, over a longer timeframe; and value for money.

This report measures the campaign’s success against this broad spectrum of impact
indicators. It therefore provides an analytical performance narrative that is anchored in a
broad context so that assessments of what the campaign achieved, and the impact it had, can
be judged through a multi-dimensional lens, and not one which is limited to a comparative
analysis of women turnout figures between two different elections.1

While the implementation period for the campaign was over a two month period (from 1 st
October – 5th December 2015), UNDP, given the short timeframe between the submission of
the proposal and the elections, decided to move ahead with procurement processes in mid-
August to ensure that all procurement would be completed in the event that the proposal
submitted was approved. Consequently, UNDP was able to begin implementation of
activities as soon as official approval was communicated in writing from DFID. UNDP also
used existing resources to front-load all activities to ensure no delay in implementation.

Strategic Approach

For the purposes of this campaign, the strategy was constructed around two core objectives:
diminishing male resistance to women voting, and increasing awareness among women on
how to vote, and why voting is important. In the context of Pakistan, campaigns which are
aimed at increasing voter turnout among women have to include men as a primary target
audience if they are to be effective. In conservative rural areas, spreading awareness among
women on the importance of voting will have little effect if such efforts are not matched by
simultaneous initiatives designed to address male opposition to women voting.

In the target districts identified for this campaign (i.e. districts which had less than 45%
women turnout in the 2013 General Elections), men were targeted in equal measure to
women. This is why focusing on gender disaggregated data to ascertain the number of
women reached through campaign efforts, while important, also risks overlooking the
importance of males as a critical target audience for the purposes of this campaign. The
need to reach both audiences in target districts with customized messages influenced the type
of media channels that were selected, and the frequency with which they were used.

For implementation, the strategy was sequenced in four periods (these are described in detail
in the main body of this report) with specific messages designed for each phase and different
types of media used. For example, TV and SMS were not used until Periods 3 and 4. The
intent was to gradually kindle a motivation to vote among women through a series of
messages carrying different content. Among men, the aim was to incrementally make them
question ‘what their family and community gains’ by not allowing women to vote.

To enhance recall among target audiences, ensure consistency, and promote a basic
understanding of what people will be voting for on Election Day, a standardized logo
1
Again this is not to say that such an analysis is not relevant. It is and when official turnout out figures are
available UNDP will submit an addendum to this report containing an analysis of women’s turnout patterns in
the context of the programme intervention undertaken with the support of the CSSF grant.

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appeared on all products (developed in collaboration with the Election Commission of
Pakistan)–an image of a female hand casting a vote in a ballot box with a tick mark next to it,
signifying the importance of women voting.

Performance and Impact

Over a two month period and with a budget of £900,123, UNDP’s voter education initiatives
reached an estimated 17 million people. 6.33 million2 people were reached through radio; 1.9
million people were reached through SMS and Voicemail; and 3.3 million people were
targeted through Information, Education and Communications materials (IEC) – posters,
flyers, wristbands and stickers. Over 142,000 people (out of which 78500 were women) at the
grassroots were directly engaged through community based activities across 1001 union
councils in 16 districts. In addition, billboard adverts containing the campaign’s core
messages were prominent across Punjab and Sindh and transit media was also used to ensure
an innovative mix of media channels were used to optimize impact.

For each activity UNDP took steps to ensure value for money in terms of cost and the number
of people reached. For example, the production and broadcast of 13,718 radio spots, and
subsequently reaching over 6 million people, cost £29,511. Direct engagement in remote,
conservative and insecure areas using the medium of street theatre cost £69,272 and enabled
direct interaction with 42,536 people of which 22.375 were women. As in political
campaigns, there is no substitute for direct, face-to-face engagement with target audiences.

One of the reasons why we believe we had a significant impact was due to the multi-media
approach that was adopted to ensure messages reached target audiences. While the research
indicates that community based engagement through civil society partners was one of the
most successful aspects of the campaign, other mediums that were used to optimize reach
were also successful. The World Food Programme (WFP) disseminated material through its
food distribution centres; the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) used its local
partners; The Election Commission of Pakistan (process poster), FAFEN (Free and Fair
Elections Network) and National Youth Assembly leveraged their networks; and the CSOs
hired to conduct grassroots activities, and additional CSOs in their other programs, also
disseminated material. A matrix detailing the volume of material distributed in each district
can be found in Annex 4.

The challenge post-elections is to maintain the momentum that the campaign contributed to
and to sustain programming designed to remove the information, cultural, legal and
administrative barriers which continue to prevent women from fully exercising their
democratic rights in Pakistan.

Key Campaign Numbers

2
Gender disaggregated data is not available for radio listenership as stations do not collect such data in
Pakistan at present. For TV, viewership data is not available. However, for both radio and television, channels
were chosen on the basis of media consumption habits among our target audience – men and women in target
districts in Punjab and Sindh.

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 Est. people reached in Punjab
and Sindh
Printed VE Material 3,300,000
Radio 6,330,000
Street Theatre 42,536
Face to Face (CSOs) 99,150
Newspaper 6,662,346
SMS 1,049,519
Voice Calls 848,596
Total 18,332,147

Additional components without verified viewership data

Transit Media # of Vehicles 300

TV # Spots 105
Billboards # Billboards 85

INTRODUCTION
In September 2015, the UK Government’s Department for International Development
approved a UNDP proposal to educate women in Punjab and Sindh to participate in the Local
Government Elections. The theory of change is anchored in a belief that increasing women’s
turnout will strengthen the legitimacy of the local bodies being elected and will enhance the
prospects for more inclusive local governance arrangements to emerge post-elections – a vital
component to promoting stabilization in Punjab and Sindh.

Given the short time frame between submission of the proposal and Election Day, UNDP
moved ahead with ensuring all procurement processes were completed in the event that the
proposal was approved. We also used existing resources to front-load all activities to ensure
no delay in implementation.

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The first part of the report outlines the campaign strategy that was developed. Subsequent
chapters provide narrative accounts of each medium used to engage target audiences, the
number of people reached (disaggregated by gender, where such data is available 3) and
assessments on performance, impact and value for money.

The final section provides an overview of Implications of Future Programming.

CAMPAIGN STRATEGY

To be effective, voter education initiatives need to be informed by a coherent

communications strategy that is focused on achieving a series of emotional and cognitive
effects through messaging efforts. In essence, the strategy needs to be analogous to that of a
political campaign, incrementally building a narrative among target audiences that is
emotionally resonant. Too many voter education campaigns fail to have an impact because
the emphasis is on the operational rather than the strategic.

Ensuring a high volume information flow is important, but it is how people engage with the
message that matters. The information has to resonate, it needs to have an emotional appeal.
Thus message design needs to take time. Anyone who has worked on a political campaign
will know it is not what you say, it is what people hear that matters. Based on this
understanding and experience of conducting strategic communications campaigns, UNDP,
prior to dissemination, tested all messages in Urdu, Seraiki and Sindhi and modified them
based on the feedback received.

For the purposes of this campaign, the strategy was constructed around two core objectives:

1. Diminish male resistance to women voting

2. Increasing awareness among women on how to vote and why voting is important.

For implementation, the strategy was sequenced in four periods (these are described in more
detail in the following section), with specific messages designed for each period and different
types of media used. For example, TV and SMS were not used until Periods 3 and 4. The
intent was to gradually kindle a motivation to vote among women through a series of
messages carrying different content. Among men, the aim was to make them question ‘what
their family and community gains’ by not allowing women to vote. The section below
elaborates on this approach.

To enhance recall among target audiences, ensure consistency, and promote a basic
understanding of what people will be voting for on election day, a standardized logo appeared
on all products – an image of a female hand casting a vote in a ballot box with a tick mark
next to it.

Message Dissemination: A Multi-Media Approach

3
Gender disaggregated data is not available for radio listenership as stations do not collect such data in
Pakistan at present. For TV, viewership data is not available. However, for both radio and television, channels
were chosen on the basis of estimates of female listenership and viewership – i.e. channels which broadcast
content that regularly appeals to a female audience.

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To optimize reach and impact, a broad, innovative, multi-media approach was developed4.
For the dissemination of IEC material, we used organizations that were a) assessed to have
the ability to reach target audiences and b) who we could monitor effectively to ensure
material had been distributed. The final mix used ensured distribution networks across
districts in Sindh and Punjab.

The World Food Programme (WFP) disseminated material through its food distribution
centres; the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) used its local partners; The Election
Commission of Pakistan (process poster), FAFEN (Free and Fair Elections Network) and
National Youth Assembly leveraged their networks; and the CSOs hired to conduct
grassroots activities, and additional CSOs in their other programs, also disseminated material.
To amplify the messaging at the grassroots, radio products were developed for each period of
the campaign. A total of 13,718 radio spots were broadcast. Two TV Adverts was produced
and broadcast for the final two days of the campaign to support the ‘Get-Out-The-Vote’
dimension. SMS bursts were also used during the final two days of the campaign.

In remote areas with little media penetration, UNDP partnered with local NGOs with
established local networks, to conduct community based voter education activities and
communicate core messages. Each partner was responsible for a specific geographical region
to ensure all districts across the province were covered.

PERIOD 1 (Awareness):

During this period simple messages were communicated to put the local government
elections on people’s radar. There were no motivation or process messaging, simply some
basic facts about what services local government will be responsible for The messages were
communicated through radio, flyers and street theatres. The core radio message was
broadcast in Urdu, Seraiki and Sindhi.

PHASE ONE (AWARENESS

Medium Quantity Message
Flyers 243,400  LGEs in Punjab/Sindh coming soon. Learn
Radio 860 Spots more about what they mean for
you/family/community. Visit your nearest
DEC office for more information

4
The term media is defined in its broadest sense to include all activities involving communication with target
audiences, including face-to-face engagement at the grassroots.

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IEC Material Phase 1 – Punjab Awareness Flyer (English Version, IEC Material Phase 1 - Sindh Awareness Flyer (English Version, Urdu &
Urdu Original) Sindhi Original)

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PERIOD 2 (Engagement)

Messaging effects in PERIOD 1 were focused on generating the cognitive effect of a)

awareness that the local government elections were taking place and b) what people would be
voting for in terms of the services that will be the responsibility of local government bodies.
The focus on local government functions was critical as anecdotal evidence indicated that
many people were confused about the functions of local government, compared to the
provincial and federal government.

PERIOD 2 messaging shifted gear, with a stronger emphasis on both cognitive and emotional
effects. The intent was to kindle motivation to vote as well as to provide information on how
to vote on Election Day by providing step by step information on what to do at the polling
station.

In terms of motivational messaging, four flyers/posters were designed (2 for Punjab and 2 for
Sindh - see below) aimed at making both men and women think about why voting matters.
All messaging invoked the theme, ‘voting will help you and your community’. It was
consciously anchored in the family and community context. We wanted people to make the
clear link between voting, their family’s welfare, and community development. For men, we
extended this line of argument to encourage them to think about the rationale of not allowing
women in their family to vote.

The messaging was designed to appeal to their self-interest and concern about the state of
their local communities and the impact it is having on their family. The basic take-away was
‘if you are concerned and want to improve your community what do you gain by not allowing
women in your family to vote? If you have a preferred candidate, who you think will do some
good, then why not optimize the chances of this person winning by encouraging women in
your family to vote for their person as well.’

On the cognitive side, process posters were developed that visually mapped out a step by step
guide to voting on Election Day. The information provided was vital to helping diminish one
of the key barriers to women voting – lack of understanding on how to vote. There is little
point motivating women to vote if they are unable to participate in the electoral process due

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to lack understanding on how to vote. This aspect of our messaging was designed to plug this
gap.

To intensify the flow of information to target audiences, and amplify core messages,
billboard adverts and transit media were deployed, wristbands and stickers disseminated and
community based activities conducted at the grassroots, including street theatres (these
activities are described in more detail in the following section).

PERIOD TWO (ENGAGEMENT):

Medium Quantity Messages
Flyers 907,000 Men
Posters 1,248,525  Is your family concerned about
Radio 7640 issues in your local
Wristbands/Stickers/Paper 535,000/400,000/200,000 community? If so, make sure all
cups your voices are heard – vote in
Transit Media/ 300/85 the upcoming LGE. The change
Billboards you want cannot be achieved if
only you vote – make sure your
wives, sisters etc. strengthen the
power of your vote by casting
their own votes.
 For the sake of your children’s
future, encourage your wives to
vote for a better life in the
LGEs. Every vote counts.
Women
 What do you gain by not
voting? Change can only
happen if you actively engage.
Make your voice heard
 Your vote matters – have your
say in how your community is
run
 Want solutions to problems in
your local community? Vote in
the LGE
Process Messages
Different types of ballots;
documents needed to vote, what to
do on E-Day, how to cast your vote
etc.

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Phase 2 - IEC Material Focusing on Engagement (English Phase 2 - IEC Material Poster of the Polling Process (English
version, Urdu original) version, Urdu original)

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Phase 2 - IEC Material Poster of the Polling Process (English Phase 2 - IEC Material Focusing on Engagement (English version,
version, Sindhi & Urdu original) Sindhi & Urdu original)

These stickers were the most popular items in the

campaign

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PERIOD 3 (Final Call) & PERIOD 4 (Action) / Get-Out-The-Vote

In political campaigns, the final 48 hours are focused on ‘get-out-the-vote’ style messages.
We adopted a similar approach for Periods 3 and 4 and communicated messages that were
designed to convert women from ‘interested’ voters into ‘active’ voters. The messages were
communicated over a 36-hour period through 15-second radio adverts, TV adverts, SMS and
voice messages. The messaging intensity in such a short-time frame was intended to ‘give an
extra push’ at a time when the elections would be the dominant issue in local communities.
By referencing ‘time frames’ in the messaging and using phrases such as I am going to go
cast my vote. You should also cast your vote for the betterment and development of your
community I?” the intent was to dial-up the emotional intensity of the message over the
course of 36 hours and encourage people to question what is to be gained by staying at home
and not voting. We wanted them to be anxious about the possibility of missing out on an
opportunity to help improve their local community.

PERIOD THREE (FINAL CALL)

Medium Quantity Messages
Radio 2,354 Spots  Don’t wait five more years to have a say in
SMS 1,049,519 how your community is run – VOTE on
Voice Messages 848,596 SATURDAY
Documentary 53  Make your voice count – Vote on Saturday

PHASE FOUR (ACTION): 30 May – Election Day

Medium Quantity Messages
Radio 2,864 Spots  Today are LGEs. I am going to vote. You
Voice Message 848,596 should also cast your vote.
SMS 1,049,519  After midday – Today are LGEs. I voted.
Did you also vote?
 Your community needs you. Vote today in
the LGE
Documentary 52

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COMMUNITY BASED ENGAGEMENT
It was important that women in remote areas of Punjab and Sindh were reached through the
voter education campaign. Hence, the campaign was designed to include a community based
engagement component. This enabled us to also focus on districts where women’s turnout is
traditionally very low. Micro-credit grants were awarded to six local civil society
organizations with track records of conducting community based activities. During the call
for proposal stage, AZM Foundation was the only civil society organization that had applied
to conduct activities in South Punjab. Therefore, UNDP was faced with the option of
restarting the procurement process, which would have resulted in a significant delay
considering the fixed date for the elections.

While the CSO selected may have lacked specific thematic expertise in core aspects of
democratic governance programming, UNDP’s perspective is that developing the capacity at
the grassroots, specifically with regards to promoting civic literacy, is fundamentally
important. This organization had conducted grassroots engagement activities in the region,
but had no direct voter education experience.

Consequently, post elections, this CSO now has the expertise in voter education and can thus,
be used again in future to scale up similar initiatives across South Punjab - an area of
Pakistan, where voter registration, voter turnout and civic literacy, especially among women,
is comparatively low.

Global Education Economic and Social Empowerment (GEESE) covered the geographical
locations of districts Bhakkar and DG Khan in South West and West Punjab. AZM
Foundation covered the districts of Bahawalpur and Multan in South Punjab. Aurat
Foundation covered the districts of Larkana and Dadu in North and West Sindh. PAHEL
Pakistan operated in districts Shikarpur and Qamber Shadadkot in North Sindh and Sindh
Radiant Organization covered districts Jamshoro and Thatta in West and South Sindh.
Community Healthy Advocacy Network At Nation (CHANAN) conducted street theatre
performances in districts Gujrat, Hafizabad and Jhelum in North Punjab and in districts
Jacobabad, Kashmore and Badin in North and South Sindh.

Innovative activities were conducted to improve the knowledge of participants, beyond what
they might receive from a radio, television, billboard, transit, voice or SMS message. The
grass roots engagement also provided invaluable qualitative insights into some of the barriers
to women voting that are often shaped by specific dynamics in each local community.

The combined efforts of all organisations involved in these initiatives

resulted in activities being conducted in 1001 union councils in 16
districts, reaching an estimated 142,000 people of which 78,500 were
women.

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Inception Phase

Prior to field deployment, UNDP arranged a one-day orientation workshop for the
management and staff of the selected civil society organizations in order to generate an
understanding of voter education, the point and purpose of the campaign, what was expected
of them and reporting and monitoring requirements. Following the orientation workshop,
UNDP worked with the organizations to develop activity wise work plans. A messaging
guide was developed by UNDP and shared with each CSO partner. The intent was to ensure
messaging consistency through all activities.

Field Monitoring

During the implementation of the activities in the field, UNDP staff maintained a close
liaison with the CSOs on the ground. The partner CSOs provided weekly reports, interim and
final reports of their activities and we intervened occasionally to keep activities on track, and
in line with the objectives of the campaign.

Remote monitoring was complemented with field spot checks. UNDP deployed three
monitoring teams simultaneously to spot check and monitor activities conducted by the
CSOs. The team also observed IEC material distribution and its use in the project districts.

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 Map of Punjab - CSO & Street Theatre Coverage

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 Map of Sindh - CSO & Street Theatre Coverage
Global Education Economic and Social
Empowerment

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Global Educational, Economic and Social Empowerment (GEESE) is a non-profit
organization that aims to organize, educate and empower communities to promote and
develop leadership for social transformation. It aims to bring about social justice, economic
growth, sustainability and self-reliance. They have implemented projects in multiple sectors
including education, democracy and human rights. 

GEESE reached 27,754 people of which 7,927 were women in districts Bhakkar and DG
Khan. They implemented activities in each union council; 64 union councils of district
Bhakkar and 98 union councils of district DG Khan. Male audiences were also targeted to
encourage them to think about how their families and communities can gain by allowing
women in their households to vote.

The activities included revitalization of Citizens Voter Groups, orientation sessions of these
groups, orientation of groups to communities, workshops with local community based
organizations, seminars and speech competitions with youth, and media briefing on topics
related to women’s participation in the electoral process. These activities were aimed at
raising awareness about women’s right to vote, the importance of women voting, voting
procedures at the polling station, and the number of ballot papers.

Revitalization and Orientation of Citizens Voter Groups (CVG)

One CVG was revitalized in each union council consisting of 6 people each based on a set
criteria. These 6 people included a woman (housewife), a teacher, a local leader, a religious
leader, a youth and an activist.

GEESE conducted orientation sessions with the groups. These groups then sensitized
communities on the importance of women voting and the importance of mobilizing women to
participate in the electoral processes. They held community meetings and seminars to for this
purpose.
CVG Sessions with Communities

Each CVG member held an awareness session with 25 people. These 25 people held further
sessions with community members and encouraged them to spread the core messages.

Awareness Workshops with Local Community Based Organizations

One day workshops with community based organizations were conducted in each district.
The objective was to build an understanding of the importance of women voting, discuss
barriers to women voting, the role and responsibilities of communtiy based organizations, and
to develop an action plan. Each community based organization was tasked to conduct session
with 25 participants.
Seminars and Speech Competitions with youth

In consultation and coordination with District authorities, seminars and speech competitions
were conducted with youth. Students were guided on preparing a speech and were given
topics. They were also asked to spread the core messages in their respective communities.

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 Media Briefings

Media briefings were held at the district level, which focused on the importance of voting,
especially women voting in the local government elections. These briefings were held to
support field activities and disseminate key messages by print media.

UNDP IEC material was distributed among participants at each activity held and participants
were encouraged to paste the flyers and posters outside shops and other prominent places in
their local communities.

The table below shows the type of field activities conducted by GEESE and a gender
breakdown of people reached:-

Participants
Sr.
Activities Bhakkar D G Khan Total
No.
M F M F M F

Revitalization of Citizen’s Voter Groups

(CVGs) at UC Level on “Voter Education to
1 332 52 392 196 724 248
Diminish Barriers to Women Voting in Local
Government Elections”
Orientation session for Citizen’s Voter
2 Groups (CVGs) at UC Level on Voter 327 51 392 196 729 247
Education
Community sessions by CVG at UC/ward 949 525
3 8360 1683 17858 6937
level on Voter Education 8 4
4 Seminar and Speech Competition with Youth 271 331 175 164 446 495
5 Workshops with Local CBOs 16 3 14 5 30 8
6 Media Briefings 15 0 16 1 31 1

Performance Assessment – GEESE

GEESE was selected by UNDP based on its experience of conducting community based
activities in districts Bhakkar and DG Khan. They completed all of the activities in the work
plan in a timely fashion. They reached 27,754 people of which 7,927 were women, in 162
union councils of districts Bhakkar and DG Khan. GEESE reported progress to UNDP on a
weekly basis and also provided interim and final project reports. They did face some

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challenges (see bullets below) in implementing activities, but managed to overcome these
challenges.

Challenges

Below are the challenges faced by GEESE:-

 The districts are dominated by specific cultural dynamics i.e. gender sensitivity, male
dominance and limited female mobility. Hence, separate sessions were held with men
and women to maintain and respect the cultural norm.
 It was difficult to gather community members as they were busy with farming and
their daily routine. However, GEESE did manage to conduct all activities.
 Accessibility to remote areas in the district was challenging and proved to be difficult
to reach by project staff, other stakeholders and beneficiaries. Also, the population
was scattered. However, GEESE staff did reach venues and conducted activities.
 There were security concerns in some areas due to religious extremism and terrorism.
Hence, activities were conducted in day light and staff returned before sunset. Also,
GEESE had a No Objection Certificate to avoid any issues with local authorities.

Pre-Election Monitoring

UNDP deployed field teams to monitor the activities of GEESE in both districts. The teams
attended a session with local CBOs through Social Welfare Department in Bhakkar, two
women voter awareness sessions at Bartoowala and Dhanotar wala and one youth awareness
session at Kotla Ahmad Khan in D G Khan. The monitoring team met with GEESE staff in
Bhakkar and suggested the following recommendations and improvements:-

 Proper placement of IEC material

 Better venue for conducting sessions
 Inform target groups in advance of proposed community activity
 Improve skills of local social organizers for effective communication

Participant Quotes

 “I have been casting vote for last 13 years on the direction of my male family
members. I did not know the importance of vote, but just piece of paper for me. After
attending session organized by GEESE with the facilitation of UNDP I came to know
that vote has value and it is my right to cast vote in the favour of best candidate
regardless of caste for the development of village and area. I will motivate rest of
female to cast their vote to best candidate and it would be step forward toward
development.” (Fatima Bibi from union council Dully Wala Tehsil Darya Khan in
Bhakkar)

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  “My family has imposed restriction on me for casting my vote and when I attended
the session organized by GEESE, I motivated my family to exercise my right to vote.
I am glad to say that my family has given permission of casting vote so I will cast my
vote in this election to my candidate for the development of village.” (Kaneez Fatima
from union council Ghadola in district Bhakkar

 ‘’Usually in our area, women don’t go for vote because they are unaware of the
process of voting , but now they are able to vote after this campaign (Local activist at
village Bartoowala – D G Khan )

 “We did not know the importance of a single vote so we used to send one elder of our
family to vote, now we understood that what difference one vote either from a man or
woman can bring.’’ (Religious leader from village Dhanotar wala in D G Khan)

AZM Foundation

AZM Foundation is a not for profit organization primarily focusing on social, economic and
political development. Micro-entrepreneurship, health, education, and agriculture are their
primary areas of work. They have had the opportunity to engage with the community and
local associations.

For the voter education campaign, AZM Foundation reached 19,584 people of which 15,189
were women in 295 union councils of districts Bahawalpur and Multan. The organization
implemented activities in 110 union councils of district Bahawalpur and 185 union councils
in district Multan.

Awareness Sessions with Communities

AZM Foundation recruited and trained 38 voter education officers to conduct sessions with
local community members. These officers held 2-3 training sessions in each union council. In
each union council, at least one session/workshop was conducted with community elders and
religious leaders and a second workshop was held with women and youth. Thus, 216 sessions
and 370 sessions were conducted in union councils of Bahawalpur and Multan respectively.

The table below shows the type of field activities conducted by AZM Foundation and a
gender breakdown of people reached:-

Sr. Activities Participants

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 Bahawalpu
Total
No. Multan r

M F M F M F

Awareness Sessions with Community 162 699

1 2775 8194 4395 15189
Members 0 5

UNDP IEC material was distributed among participants at each activity held, and participants
were encouraged to paste the flyers and posters outside shops and other prominent places in
their local communities.

Performance Assessment – AZM Foundation

As previously mentioned, AZM Foundation was the only organization that had applied to
conduct activities in South Punjab. Even though, they lacked democratic governance
programming experience, UNDP selected them to avoid implementation delays and to build
their programming capacity. This organization reached 19,584 people of which 15,189 were
women in 295 union councils of districts Bahawalpur and Multan. AZM Foundation reported
progress to UNDP on a weekly basis and also provided interim and final project reports.
They did face some challenges in implementing activities, but managed to overcome these
challenges.

Challenges

Below are the challenges faced by AZM Foundation:-

 Due to cultural constraints, it many instances, it was difficult to obtain permission to

take photographs during women only sessions.

 In one union council in Multan, political party representatives were under the
misconception that the activities conducted were to encourage the community
members to vote in favour of candidates from the current government. AZM
Foundation met with these representatives to make them understand the aim of the
activities. After which, they did not create any issues for the organization and
activities continued as planned.

Pre-Election Monitoring

UNDP deployed a field team to monitor the activities of AZM Foundation in both districts.
The teams attended four community voter education awareness sessions in Gareebabad,
Mohallah Sutliyee Wut, Village Jhok Sarkari and Torypur of district Multan district and two
women voter education awareness sessions in Abassia Town and Karna Bast of district.

The UNDP monitoring team made the following recommendations to the CSO staff in
Multan:-

24 | P a g e
  The polling process should have been discussed in greater detail
 Hold sessions in public venues

Participant Quotes

 ‘’We will cast our votes. We understood it is our duty, but also our political
representatives should perform their duty towards local issues.’’ (a literate woman
from Gareebabad in Multan)

 ‘’The main reason of not voting is mostly due to the behaviour of our representatives
who hardly come in public after an elections. They forget about their promises
regarding local issues.’’ (Shamim Akhtar from Village Jhok Sarkari in Multan)

 ‘’Not casting vote is a negative trait among us. We promise we will vote’’ (Hafiz Mai
from Torypur village in Multan )

 “We appreciate this awareness and we will vote but who will make sure about the
benefit of our voting.’’ (a woman from Abbasia town in Bahawalpur)

 “We believe that we can change our lives with the power of the vote.” (women in the
awareness sessions)

 “Voting is not the only the right of our men, it is our right as well.” (women in the
awareness sessions)
Aurat Foundation

Aurat Foundation is a national, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to

spreading awareness and commitment for a just, democratic and caring society in Pakistan,
where women and men are recognized as equals, with the right to lead their lives with self-
respect and dignity.  The objectives of the Foundation are:-

 To enable women to acquire great access to knowledge, resources and institutions;

 To influence attitudes and behavior for a social environment responsive to women’s
concerns and people-centred issues;
 To facilitate citizens’ active participation in the process of social change and
governance at all level.  

Aurat Foundation reached 6,420 people of which 5,388 were women in districts Larkana and
Dadu. They implemented activities in 44 union councils of district Larkana and 52 union
councils of district Dadu. The activities included dialogues/consultation meetings at the
district level, meetings with local communities, seminars with women and youth, cluster
meetings for group formatting, trainings at cluster level, corner meetings, street theatre,
meetings with civil society and religious leaders and press conferences based on topics
related to women’s participation in the electoral process. These activities were aimed at

25 | P a g e
raising awareness about women’s right to vote, to reduce barriers to women voting and to
create an informed voting population.

Consultation Meeting with Stakeholders

Two consultation meetings were held at the district level; one in Dadu and one in Larkana.
Approximately 200 participants attended these meetings of which approximately 81 percent
were women. At these meetings, religious scholars emphasized the importance of women
participation in the electoral process. Attendees were also informed on the number and
colours of the ballot paper

Meetings with Local Communities at the Taluka Level

A total of eight meetings with local communities were held in four Talukas of Larkana
(Larkana, Bakrani, Dokri and Ratodero) and four Talukas of Dadu (KN Shah, Meher, Johi
and Dadu) with the aim to form community groups/forums for voter education activities.
Approximately 600 people attended these meetings of which 90.5% were women. The
meetings highlighted the importance of women voting and explained the voting process.
Street theatre performances were conducted at some of these meetings.
Youth Seminars

Two youth seminars were held in the two districts at educational institutions. 264 people
attended these seminars of which 23.86 percent were women. At these seminars, It was
highlighted that local problems could be solved with the help of local leadership. It was also
stressed that women should participate in the electoral process. Participants believed that
security at the polling stations was one of the barriers to women voting. If security was
improved, then women turnout would increase. Also, a participant, a college principal,
believed that adding civic education to the curriculum will make a difference.

Women Seminars

Two women seminars were held; one in each district. 227 participants attended of which 75
percent were women. Speakers were of the opinion that the local government system is the
best form of the governance system since local representatives are easily accessible and could
solve local problems. Speakers highlighted the importance of women participation in local
government elections.

Cluster Meetings

A total of sixteen (16) cluster meetings were held in both districts, where clusters were
formed to educate women on their right to vote. Approximately 956 people participated in
these meetings of which 89% were women. At these meetings, the importance of women
voting and their participation in the local government elections were key discussion points.
Women were urged to cast their votes for the betterment of their community. Also,
participants were given information on the process of voting.

26 | P a g e
Training at UC Cluster Level

A total of 16 cluster trainings were planned, but only ten trainings were conducted; eight in
Dadu and two in Larkana. Apart from emphasizing the importance of women voting and the
local government elections, effective communication and convincing techniques were also
taught. The training aimed to increase the capacity of group members to deliver similar
trainings at the union council level. Mock polling exercises were conducted to show the
voting process. 571 people attended these trainings of which approximately 91 percent were
women. The training aimed to direct the cluster teams and focal persons on the dos and
don’ts of mobilization and motivation in a gender sensitive manner.

Corner Meetings at UC Level

A total of 61 corner meetings were held: 9 in Larkana and 52 in Dadu district. A total of 1900
persons attended these meetings of which 92 percent were women. These corner meetings
covered a wide range of topics from the status of women in society to the methods of
empowerment. Infrastructure conditions, the importance of local government elections, the
polling process and other voting information were also discussed. Women were encouraged
to come out and vote on Election day. Street theatre performances were also conducted to
spread core messages.

Street Theatre

29 street theatre performances were conducted, in which 1696 people. Women attendance
was approximately 77 percent. In Larkana, 13 performances were conducted in Talukas of
Larkana, Bakrani, Dokri and Ratodero and in Dadu, 16 performances were held in Talukas of
Johi, Dadu, Meher and KN Shah. The aim of the performances was to mobilize and motivate
women to vote for the candidates of their choice. These performances showed the mock
exercise on the polling process.

Meetings with Civil Society and Religious Leaders

Three separate meetings were conducted with religious leaders and members of civil society;
two in Dadu and one in Larkana. A total of 73 men participated in the three meetings. At
these meetings, the importance of local government elections and women voting were
highlighted. Barriers to women voting were discussed; where it was pointed out that security
steps need to be taken to enable women to vote in a safe environment.

Press Conferences

Two press conferences were held in Larkana and Dadu Districts, where 40 participants
attended. The main purpose of the press conferences was to highlight the purpose of the

27 | P a g e
campaign to get out the vote. The press conferences were able to attract substantial media
attention. It was covered on local radio stations and Dunya and KTN television stations and
regional newspapers such as Awami Sindh, Awami Awaz, Wafa-e—Sindh and Daily
Koshish.

The table below shows the type of field activities conducted by Aurat Foundation and a
gender breakdown of people reached:-

Participants
Sr.
Activities Larkana Dadu Total
No.
M F M F M F

Staff Orientation at Dadu (for both

1 1 3 1 4 2 7
districts)

2 Consultation Meetings with stakeholders 10 70 18 94 28 164

Meeting with Local Communities at the

3 24 263 34 288 58 551
Taluka Level

4 Youth Seminars 50 24 40 39 90 63

5 Cluster Meetings 54 435 48 419 102 854

6 Trainings at UC Cluster Level 8 127 42 394 50 521

7 Corner Meetings at UC level 25 304 128 1443 153 1747

8 Women Seminars 30 90 20 81 50 171

9 Street Theatre Performances 144 665 247 640 391 1305

Meeting with Civil Society and Religious

10 20 0 53 0 73 0
Scholars

11 Press Conferences 12 3 23 2 35 5

UNDP IEC material was distributed among community men and women and youth. The IEC
material was pasted at prominent places such as hospitals, schools and on chingqis and
rickshaws.

Performance Assessment – Aurat Foundation

Aurat Foundation was selected by UNDP based on its experience of conducting community
based activities with women. They reached 6,420 people of which 5,388 were women in 96
union councils of districts Larkana and Dadu. However, due to time constraints, the

28 | P a g e
organization did not complete activities in Larkana. Aurat Foundation reported progress to
UNDP on a weekly basis and also provided interim and final project reports. They did face
some challenges in implementing activities, which are highlighted in the section below.

Challenges

Below are the challenges faced by Aurat Foundation:-

 The short duration of the project required extra human and financial resources.
Therefore, multiple field teams were formed to conduct innovative activities in
multiple locations.

 A street theatre performance was disrupted by an activist of a political party. Aurat

Foundation handled the situation through discussions.

 Religious scholars seemed disinterested and disengaged, but yet some supported the
campaign.

 Due to two Muharram holidays, two days were unproductive. Thus, extra hours added
to make up for the lost time.

 The influential in some areas were displeased with Aurat Foundation staff
approaching women to participate in activities.

Pre-Election Monitoring

UNDP deployed a field team to monitor an activity of Aurat Foundation in Dadu. The
monitoring team attended a voter education session at Goth Pano Khan Kolachi in union
council, Mungwarri which was attended by approximately 35 women of the village. The
Aurat Foundation staff explained the importance of the local government system and its
functions. They explained the different tiers of local government structure in Sindh, the
polling process and informed the audience of the quantity and colours of the ballot papers.

Participant Quotes

 “Such activities (VE Sessions) should be arranged before every election. These are
very useful for first time voters. I and my two daughters, who are first time voters,
attended the session and found it very informative. We are taking a voting process
poster with us, which my daughters will explain to other women in our locality.”
(Shabiraan, from union council Mungwarri in Dadu)

 “I found this [session] very useful and learned about the voting process and the
number and colour of the ballot papers.” (Najma from union council Mungwarri in
Dadu)

29 | P a g e
  “I am not educated, but now I have come to know, from these posters, that why
should I vote…it’s for our better future.” (Loang from Dadu)

PAHEL Pakistan

PAHEL Pakistan is a non-government organization), not-for-profit, non-sectarian

organization working for social development & empowerment, democracy and peace &
human rights and is also a movement for the behavioural change among citizens. It’s a
Human Rights-centred organization and strongly believes in capabilities of people for human
development and empowerment.

PAHEL Pakistan reached 21,763 people of which 14,248 were women in districts Shikarpur
and Qambar Shahdadkot. They implemented activities 55 union councils of district Shikarpur
and 40 union councils of district Qambar Shahdadkot. The activities aimed at educating
women voters and diminishing barriers to women voting in the local government elections by
engaging local communities to promote and spread voter education. An innovative mix of
activities included taluka level seminars, formation of taluka voter committees, trainings of
members of committees, voter education sessions, meetings with notables and street theatre
performances on topics related to women’s participation in the electoral process.

Taluka Level Seminars

11 seminars were conducted in 7 talukas of district Qambar Shahdadkot and 4 talukas of

district Shikarpur on the “Role of Women Voters in democracy and Local Government
Elections 2015”. The seminars focused on the importance of democracy in Pakistan, electoral
processes and its transparency, power of vote, inclusion of women voters in the political
process and responsibilities as citizens. These seminars were attended by 893 people from
various voting groups like: members of community based organizations/village organizations,
lady health workers and visitors, polio workers, teachers, para medics, bar association
members, youth, media and political workers. The attendance at these seminars comprised of
46 percent of women.

Formation of Taluka Voter Committees

11 Taluka Voter Committees were formed in 7 talukas of district Qambar Shahdadkot and 4
talukas of district Shikarpur for sensitizing communities on the importance of women voting
and to mobilize them for their active participation in the electoral processes. Each committee
comprised of 24 members belonging to the following groups:-

Members of village organizations (VOs) and community based organizations (CBOs)

Meetings with representatives of Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), Pirbhat

and Takhleeq Foundation were conducted to identify of potential members.
Teachers (government and private schools)

30 | P a g e
 Meetings with the representatives of teachers associations for example Government
School Teachers Association-GSTA, Mehran Teachers Association and Primary
Teachers Association were conducted identify and nominate teachers. Meetings with
private school teachers were also arranged.
Lady health workers/Lady health visitors and Polio Workers

Meetings with Para Medical Associations were arranged to identify and nominate
potential members.

The table below shows a breakdown of the committee members in each district:-

CBOs/ LHV/
Polio/W Teacher
Sr. No District VOs LHWs Total
Female Female Female Female
1 6 6 6 6 24
2 6 6 6 6 24
Shikarpur
3 6 6 6 6 24
4 6 6 6 6 24
5 6 6 6 6 24
6 6 6 6 6 24
7 6 6 6 6 24
Qambar
8 6 6 6 6 24
Shahdadkot
9 6 6 6 6 24
10 6 6 6 6 24
11 6 6 6 6 24
Total 66 66 66 66 264

Trainings of Taluka Voter Committees’ Members

PAHEL Pakistan conducted 11 capacity building trainings with the 264 female members of
the committees. After completing the training, the members were able to conduct voter
education sessions with communities.

Voter Education Sessions

There were two sets of voter educations sessions conducted as identified below:-

Voter Education Sessions conducted by Taluka Voter Committees’ Members

Each member was tasked to deliver two voter education sessions on the importance of
women voting in the local government elections and the voting process. Consequently,
528 voter education sessions were conducted by the members, reaching 6,548 community
members of which 82 percent were women. These members also identified barriers to
women voting in the area.

31 | P a g e
Voter Education Sessions conducted by Voter Education Officers

PAHEL Pakistan delivered 424 voter educations sessions to 9138 people of whom 70
percent were women on the role of local governments, importance of voting including
women voting and the voting process. These officers also identified barriers to women
voting in the area.

Street Theatre

The organization hired a local theatre group to increase awareness amongst citizens on the
importance of voting especially that of women, the benefits of a local government system, to
explain the voting process and spread other pertinent information on the local government
elections. The theatre script was shared in Urdu and Sindhi by UNDP.

The group conducted 95 Interactive theatre performances; one in each union councils of both
districts. They reached an audience of 4,750 of which 38 percent were women.
Meetings with Notables/Stakeholders

52 meetings were conducted with political and contesting candidates, election commission
local organizations, representatives of bar associations, press clubs, teachers’ associations,
para medical associations and professors. At these meetings, the importance of women voting
was emphasized and support was requested for creating a conducive and secure environment
for women to come out and vote on Election Day. These meetings also resulted in the
sensitization on women’s right to vote.

The table below shows the type of field activities conducted by PAHEL Pakistan and a
gender breakdown of people reached:

Qambar
Sr. Shikarpur Total
Activities Shahdadkot
No.
M F M F M F

Seminars on the “Role of Women

1 Voters in democracy and Local 160 198 323 210 483 408
Government Elections 2015”

Trainings of Voter Committees on

2 0 96 0 168 0 264
the importance of women’s voting

Voter Education Sessions conducted

3 by the trained members of Voter 982 2216 199 3151 1181 5367
Committee members

4 Voter Education Sessions conducted 1544 3856 1231 2507 2775 6363
by Voter Education Officers with

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 male and female

Street theatre Plays about the

5 1580 1013 1358 799 2938 1812
Importance of Women Vote

6 Meetings with Notables/Stakeholders 70 20 68 14 138 34

UNDP IEC material was distributed among community men and women and youth. The IEC
material was also pasted at prominent locations.
Performance Assessment – PAHEL Pakistan

PAHEL Pakistan was selected by UNDP based on its experience of conducting grassroots
area in the two districts. They reached 21,763 people of which 14,248 were women in 95
union councils of districts Shikarpur and Qambar Shahdadkot. They completed and in fact,
exceeded all their planned activities in the given timeframe. They provided reports to UNDP
on a weekly basis and also provided interim and final project reports. They did face some
challenges during the implementation phase, which are highlighted in the section below.

Challenges

 Due to cultural constrains, women did not allow their photographs being taken in
some areas, especially women from the Baloch community.

 Refusal of signatures and thumb impressions on the attendance sheet, in fear that the
activity might be in support of a particular political party.

 Discouragement by feudal actors to educate women on their right to vote.

 Target audience busy with crop harvesting season, especially women

 Security constrains due to Muharram. The security situation worsened after the 9th of
Muharram with an attack in Jacobabad, which bordered the project area.
Pre-Election Monitoring

UNDP deployed a field team to monitor the activities of PAHEL Pakistan in Shikarpur and
Qambar Shahdadkot. Two voter education sessions were monitored with the community
members of village ‘Momin Saleh Burro’ in union council. There was a separate session for
women and a separate session for men. A third voter education awareness campaign was
monitored with mainly community women at the press club in Shahdadkot city. The topics
covered local issues and local problem and why it was important to vote to solve them,
importance of women voting, the process of voting and voting information. IEC material was

33 | P a g e
pasted at the activity locations and distributed at the end of the session among community
members.

Participant Quotes

 “Women need to be at the forefront in political matters of the area. Our health,
education and roads in the area, are political issues and we can resolve them through
our votes. This is what I have learnt in today’s seminar on the importance of women
voting in upcoming local government elections”. (Shazia from Qambar Shadadkot)

 “I will vote in the upcoming local government elections. After attending today’s
informative seminar/session, I have decided to convince other girls in my
neighbourhood to exercise their right. “ (Jannat from Qambar Shadadkot)

 “This session was very useful. We didn’t know how to vote, but now we do.”(Zahida,
community woman from Shikarpur)

 “I will go vote with my CNIC.” (Anwar, community woman from Shikarpur)

 “I will go vote in the local government elections. I have a CNIC.”(Abdi Parveen,

community woman from Shikarpur)

Sindh Radiant Organization

Sindh Radiant Organization is a civil society organization working for development by

engaging community members particularly in district Thatta. They reached 23,629 people of
which 13,346 were women in 40 union councils of district Thatta and 30 union councils of
district Jamshoro. They implemented activities at the grassroots level to increase the
participation of women in the local government elections in Thatta and Jamshoro, where
women turnout was low. The organization conducted 10 broad based community meetings,
two one-day trainings of volunteers, 500 voter education sessions, six street theatre
performances, two district level seminars, six taluka level seminars, 6 rallies and walks, two
stakeholder dialogues and 4 press meetings for campaign coverage.

Sr. Jamshoro Thatta Total

Activities
No M F M F M F

1 Training of Volunteers 45 34 60 67 105 101

2 Voter Education Sessions 5792 2735 2849 10154 8641 12889

3 Theatres on Voter Education 173 30 177 7 350 37

4 District Level Seminar on 73 40 74 20 147 60

34 | P a g e
 Voter Education

5 Taluka Level Seminars 263 0 251 0 514 0

Rallies and walks to Increase

6 184 0 139 67 323 67
Voters’ Turnout

Broad based Community

7 200 42 3 150 203 192
Meetings

UNDP IEC material was distributed among community men, women and youth.

Performance Assessment – Sindh Radiant Organization

Sindh Radiant Organization was selected by UNDP based on its experience of conducting
grassroots area in the two districts. They reached 23,629 people of which 13,346 were
women in 70 union districts Thatta and Jamshoro. They completed their activities as per their
work plan. They provided reports to UNDP on a weekly basis and also provided interim and
final project reports. They did face some challenges during the implementation phase, which
are highlighted in the section below.

Challenges

Below are the challenges faced Sindh Radiant Organization:-

 Due to cultural constrains, photos and videos were not allowed to be taken in some
areas.

 Low attendance of women at street theatre performances because women were not
allowed to attend by male members of their family.

 Low turnout of women at activities organized in the late evening

 Security constrains due to Muharram.

 Misconception of field team supporting a political party among some community

members in a few areas. After attending the activities, this misconception was
removed.

Pre-Election Monitoring

UNDP deployed a field team to monitor the activities of Sindh Radiant Organization in
Thatta and Jamshoro. The team monitored eight voter education sessions in eight union

35 | P a g e
councils; four in Thatta and four in Jamshoro. The topics discussed at these sessions were
importance of women voting, the voting process and other pertinent information related to
Election Day. The team also attended a stakeholders meeting on the importance of women
voting in Jamshoro. It was emphasized that voting is an equal responsibility of both men and
women.

Participant Quotes

 “Continuous efforts are needed for women education about voting beyond elections.
Such campaigns should continue after LG election so that the more women are able to
get national identity cards and register as voters.” (Aneesa Sohail, from Jamshoro)

 “NGO staff explained to men of my village the importance of women voting. Its
female staff went door to door to meet and talk to women about casting their votes
and also distributed posters. I think it has a very good impact on women as my female
relatives have started discussing different aspects of the voting process.” (Muhammad
Achar from Jamshoro)

 “The VE session was very informative in many ways for me. I learnt about the
number and colours of ballot papers and how to get ballot papers and cast my vote at
the polling station. I love to explain the voting process poster to women of my
village.” (Dharmi from Thatta)

99,150 people
718 union councils reached of which
Input £144,951 Output
covered by activities Outcome
56,098 were
in 10 districts
women

CHANAN: STREET THEATRE

Street theatre is a form of drama that is performed outdoors, mainly on the streets, university
and college campuses, in parks, markets, railway and bus stations, which is easily accessible
to the general public. Theatre actors can interact with a wide range of audiences directly with
the purpose of not only entertaining them, but disseminating important messages. This type
of art plays an important role in bringing about change in behaviours and attitudes of the

36 | P a g e
people. A troupe of street theatre performers usually attracts a crowd by singing or playing
folk songs, putting up a banner and/or using props. Usually no theatrical set up is in place for
this type of theatre, which makes it popular due to its easy mobility. The performers do not
have to wait for the audience to come to them and neither does the audience have to wait in a
queue for tickets. In street theatre, the theatre goes to the audience and not the other way
around.

Another main feature of this type of drama is that it is community based and it targets
audiences at the grassroots level. In addition, it is kept short to keep the audience engaged
and focused. After the drama is over, the theatre group questions the audience on main
message/s of the performance and asks for their feedback. This two-way communication
does not usually occur in other types of drama performances.

The street theatre performances for the voter education campaign to diminish barriers to
women voting in the local government elections in Punjab and Sindh were conducted in six
districts of Punjab and Sindh over Phase 1 and 2 of the elections. For Phase 1, district Gujrat
in Punjab and districts Jacobabad and Kashmore in Sindh were selected and for Phase 2,
districts Hafizabad and Jhelum in Punjab and district Badin in Sindh were selected to conduct
performances. These performances were aimed at diminishing male resistance to women
voting and increasing awareness among women on how to vote and why voting is
important. Therefore, the script of the play contained dialogue sequences designed to
achieve this messaging effect. In addition, messages were imparted to audiences which
focused on generating understanding about the functions of local government, the different
categories of ballot papers, the process of voting at polling stations and the date of the
election in that particular district. These performances were conducted in the local languages
of Punjabi, Seraiki and Sindhi.

CHANAN selected 12 theatre groups, which had previous field experience to conduct
such performances. The performers were local young professionals, who had previous
knowledge of the areas, locality, culture and language. To reach the maximum number
of female voters, CHANAN also engaged female performer/s. In terms of the script,
UNDP provide an initial guideline to be used to develop a script keeping in mind the
cultural norms. After feedback from UNDP, a final script was shared with the groups for
translation and practice in the local languages. In addition, CHANAN organized a three
days capacity building workshop for the theatre groups.

The street theatre performances were conducted at various public locations including
colleges, parks, ‘baithak/authaq, markets, open village spaces, railway stations, van and lorry
terminals. The groups focused on locations, which were easily accessible by women. These
performances were arranged by pre-planning and coordinating with the local community
elders, local council offices, and educational institutions. Each performance began with a
welcome song and/or beat to capture the attention of the local communities along with a
banner branded with the campaign logo. The actors were dressed in appropriate outfits to fit
their respective roles. For example, the vegetable seller actor in had a sign around his neck
for the audience to easily identify his role.

37 | P a g e
 Each theatre group began the performance with a welcome speech and cultural song. They
made it very clear from the start of the performance that they were not with any political
party and were there to impart useful information. As mentioned, the script of the play was
designed to impart information on the local government structure and its functions, the
number and colours of the ballot papers, how to fold the ballot paper, the importance of
voting to solve local issues and the importance of women voting. The theatre groups
explained the original CNIC requirement (even if expired) to cast a vote on the polling day.
They also informed the audience that they could send a text to 8300 to receive details of their
voter information details. As the elections are over 3 phases, the groups announced the date
of the election in the districts and the time of polling repeatedly. They emphasized that there
would be separate polling booths for men and women at the polling stations. The groups
pasted and distributed IEC material. Some of the theatre groups even read out the text on the
IEC material. The duration of each performance was for approximately 20 minutes. This time
duration was sufficient to keep the audience engaged, entertained and focused.

After each performance the coordinator would ask the crowd for their feedback and
questioned them on the key messages of the play. These questions were:-

1) How was the drama?

2) What were the key learnings from the play?
3) Will you cast your vote in the local government elections?
4) Is it important for women to cast their vote? If so, why?
5) Will you take family members, including women, along to cast their votes on Election
Day?
6) Will you inform others and encourage and support women to cast their vote?

District Breakdown of Performances

For Phase One of the local government elections, 352 theatre performances were
conducted. This included 230 theatre performances in district Gujrat, 88 theatre
performances in district Jacobabad and 34 theatre performances in district Kashmore. For
Phase Two, 316 theatre performances were conducted. This included 136 theatre
performances in district Badin, 88 performances in district Jhelum and 92 performances in
district Hafizabad. The table below shows the breakdown of the audience in each district:-

Total
No. of No. of No. of No. of
No. of No. of
District Females (age Males (age Females Males (age
Skits Audienc
18-29) 18-29) (age 30 +) 30 +)
e
Gujrat 230 5384 3862 2492 3269 15007
Jacobabad 88 1171 2072 919 1629 5791
Kashmore 34 360 261 856 499 1976
Hafizabad 92 2850 1086 1201 1075 6212

38 | P a g e
Jhelum 88 1565 1284 984 881 4714
Badin 136 2669 2618 1924 1625 8836
Total 668 13999 11183 8376 8978 42536

Performance Assessment - CHANAN

CHANAN was selected by UNDP based on its experience of conducting street theatres
across Pakistan for the purposes of voter education. Since it was established it has performed
over 2500 performances and has targeted over 350,000 people across Pakistan while teaming
up with local theatre groups.

For the voter education campaign, CHANAN completed street theatre activities in 6 districts.
They were given the task to conduct two performances per union council in each of the target
districts. This was an increase from the KP campaign to take into account the feedback
received to increase the number of performances. CHANAN reached their target
performances of 668, but fell short of performing in 21 union councils out of the 334 union
councils. This was due to cultural restraints and challenges faced. Their target audience was
53% women and 47% men, both of voting age.

Challenges

The street theatre groups did face some challenges in a few union councils as below:-

 Due to cultural restraints, women did not participate in watching the performances in
Lilla, Toba, Ghujar and Janjeel of District Jhelum and BESA of Sary Alam gir,
Hazarn Mughlaan of District Gujrat.
 Video recordings and pictures were not permitted.
 Teams were not allowed to use a sound system in Muharram.
 Political party workers created hurdles as they thought the group was supporting a
political party.
 Groups faced some security issues in 21 UCs due to feudalism and other reasons.
Hence, they did not perform in those UCs.
 An official authority letter from the district government was required to perform in
some locations. This was overcome by UNDP providing a letter stating that the
project had engaged CHANAN to conduct voter education street theatre
performances.

Pre-Election Monitoring

UNDP deployed two teams simultaneously in each province across the six districts to
monitor the performance of street theatres and to ensure that the dialogue sequences
contained messaging aligned with core campaign objectives. The field monitoring teams also
probed participants on their thoughts regarding the messages being communicated as well as

39 | P a g e
to confirm that the CHANAN employees were distributing the IEC material as per the
agreement with UNDP.

Participant Quotes

 “I got information on the ballot papers and am encouraged to vote. We are four sisters
and we will all go to cast our votes.” (Zarina, a community woman from Kashmore)

 “We must make an effort to go out and vote. We need hospitals and doctors in our
area. Our representatives should serve our area. Poor people especially women work
hard to make ends meet, but have to spend thousands on medical needs. (Jamila, a
community woman from Kashmore)

 “I learnt the process of casting a vote. We normally do not fold it well. Now, we know
how to do it properly. I’ll go out to cast my vote as I believe the local government
system is good for us.” (Fatima, a community woman from Kashmore)

 “It is good that the theatre play was performed in my village and all women and men
of the family/clan watched it together. But most important element of the play was the
message regarding women voting. Women must vote in the local government
elections as it is linked with the social development of our area. And social
development is beneficial for our children’s future”. (Abida from Jacobabad)

 “Awareness through performances is an important step towards female participation

in electoral process. The most interesting part was the method of casting a vote. It not
only helped me, but also the other first time voters.” (Asifa from Jhelum)

 “The information shared through street theatre is very effective and important as this
has helped us to understand how women are equally important in the voting process.”
(Atiqa Naz from Hafizabad)

 “It is a good way to spread information. We should take care of our streets and choose
the representatives for the better development of our villages.” (Ms. Asia from Gujrat)

 “I belong to a minority community. I learned the procedure to cast a vote, the number
of ballot papers and its colours. This is the first time in my life that I will cast my
vote. When I will go at polling station, I will apply the procedure, which I saw in the
play. I will cast her vote and also will spread awareness to others women of her
area.” (Beena from Badin)

40 | P a g e
 42,536 people
668 performances in reached of which
Input £69,272 Output
283 uinion councils Outcome
22,375 were
of 6 districts
women

41 | P a g e
BROADCAST AND PRINT MEDIA
RADIO

Radio was the dominant part of the multi-media mix designed for the campaign. This was due
to UNDP’s assessment of media consumption habits in the provinces. During the initial
planning sessions, and in consultation with media experts, it was agreed that local radio
stations represented one of the most effect means for communication campaign messages to
target audiences. Women, in particular those in rural areas, use the radio as their main source
of news.

Radio also has other added advantages. This includes the radio transistor not requiring
electricity to work. This is a huge advantage in areas where there are many hours of power
outages, or where there is a lack of electricity. Thus, radio provides a form of entertainment
opportunity and a source of information to the people especially in rural areas.

Consequently, our media deployment strategy contained a high number of radio spots during
the Engagement Period – the key ‘information’ phase of the campaign. For this Period, 3
radio messages were produced in each local language, with each one communicating specific
messages to men and women. These products were mostly 30-second adverts, while the radio
products for the Awareness Period, Final Call and Action were snappy 15-second adverts as
per the communications strategy.

For the campaign period, 13,115 radio spots were aired on 24 stations. These Election
Commission of Pakistan approved radio messages were tailored separately for Sindh and
Punjab and developed in Urdu and Seraiki for Punjab and in Urdu and Sindhi for Sindh. Each
message was accompanied by cultural music from each of the province. To refresh one’s
memory, the script of the radio messages for each period in Sindh and Punjab are below.

Awareness Messages

1. Local Government Elections have been announced in Punjab. Your vote can be your
voice that can be a guarantee to develop and solve issues in your community. Carry
out your responsibility by voting in these elections for the betterment and
development of your community.

2. Local Government Elections have been announced in Sindh. Your vote can be your
voice that can be a guarantee to develop and solve issues in your community. Carry
out your responsibility by voting in these elections for the betterment and
development of your community.

Engagement Messages

42 | P a g e
 1. Local Government Elections have been announced in Punjab. The development of
your community is only possible by both men and women voting. To resolve local
issues, everyone’s vote is important. Make your vote your voice.

2. Local Government Elections have been announced in Sindh. The development of your
community is only possible by both men and women voting. To resolve local issues,
everyone’s vote is important. Make your vote your voice.

3. Besides being a woman, I am also a mother and for a better future for my children, I
will definitely cast my vote. Like me, you should also participate in the local
Government Elections in Punjab. Let us all get together and make our vote our voice.

4. Besides being a woman, I am also a mother and for a better future for my children, I
will definitely cast my vote. Like me, you should also participate in the local
Government Elections in Sindh. Let us all get together and make our vote our voice.

5. Look for local solutions for local problems. Women, men, youth, minorities, elders,
the disabled, all have a national responsibility to vote. Therefore, come and let’s vote
with a sense of responsibility. A woman’s vote is as important as a man’s vote. Come
and vote for a better future.

6. (Punjab)
Husband: Hello
Wife: Hello. You are back from the local election commission office. What
information did you receive about the local government elections?
Husband: Yes, I am back and I have received useful information.
Wife: Really!!! What’s that?
Husband: Every voter will receive one or two ballot
Wife: Really!!! But how would we know if we get one ballot paper or two?
Husband: Yes, Yes, I have found that out too. Those voters that will vote for the
municipal committee, they will receive one white ballot paper for the general member
of the ward, while union council voters will receive two ballot papers; one white and
the second blue. The white ballot paper is for the general member and the blue is for
election of the chairman and vice chairman.
Wife: Oh wow! This information is valuable. We must share this with others.
Husband: Yes and we should encourage both men and women from our community to
go cast their vote.

7. (Sindh)
Husband: Hello
Wife: Hello. You are back from the local election commission office. What
information did you receive about the local government elections?

43 | P a g e
 Husband: Yes, I am back and I have received useful information.
Wife: Really!!! What’s that?
Husband: Every voter will receive one, two or three ballot papers
Wife: Really!!! But how would we know if we are to receive one ballot paper or two
or three?
Husband: Don’t worry about that. I have also found that information out too. Those
voters that will vote for the municipal committee and town committee, they will
receive one blue ballot paper for the general member of the ward, while union
committee voters will receive two ballot papers; one white and the second green. The
white ballot paper is for the general member and the green is for election of the
chairman and vice chairman. Likewise, union council voters will receive three ballot
papers; white for the general members, green for the chairman and vice chairman and
blue for the election of the district council.
Wife: Hmmm. That’s good. This information is very valuable. We must share this
with others.
Husband: Yes and we should encourage both men and women from our community to
go cast their vote.

8. The Local Government Elections in Punjab are taking place. For information on your
vote and polling station, SMS your CNIC number to 8300.

9. The Local Government Elections in Sindh are taking place. For information on your
vote and polling station, SMS your CNIC number to 8300.

Final Call Messages

1. The Local Government Elections in Punjab are taking place tomorrow. Make your
vote your voice. Cast your vote for the betterment and development of your
community.

2. The Local Government Elections in Sindh are taking place tomorrow. Make your vote
your voice. Cast your vote for the betterment and development of your community.

Action Messages

1. The Local Government Elections in Punjab are taking place today. I am going to go
cast my vote. You should also cast your vote for the betterment and development of
your community.

2. The Local Government Elections in Sindh are taking place today. I am going to go
cast my vote. You should also cast your vote for the betterment and development of
your community.
44 | P a g e
 3. The Local Government Elections in Punjab are taking place today. I have casted my
vote. You should also cast your vote for the betterment and development of your
community.

4. The Local Government Elections in Sindh are taking place today. I have casted my
vote. You should also cast your vote for the betterment and development of your
community.

In addition, UNDP promoted Punjab Women’s Helpline radio message, which provided
awareness to women on elections and a phone number to call to file complaints if election
violence occurred. Thus, UNDP aired 603 radio spots of this message on 9 radio stations in
Phase 3 of the campaign in Punjab.

Number of Radio Spots

The number radio spots aired on Punjab and Sindh radio stations are given below:-

Sr. No. Province FM Network Stations/City No. of Spots

1 Bahawalpur 1224
2 Pakpattan 684
Radio Awaz
3 Bhalwal/Sargodha 535
4 Rajanpur 535
5 Radio Pakistan – FM Faisalabad 362
6 93 Mianwali/Multan 840
7 Punjab Lahore 686
FM 91
8 Islamabad/Rawalpindi 535
9 Lahore 714
10 Islamabad/Rawalpindi 535
FM 100
11 Rahimyar Khan 531
12 Multan 526
13 FM 101 Sialkot 1222
14 Shikarpur 371
15 Larkana 371
16 FM 105 Jacobabad 370
17 Badin 325
18 Dadu 325
19 Sindh Larkana 369
20 FM 93 Khairpur 368
21 Hyderabad 290
22 Hyderabad 331
FM 100
23 Karachi 531
24 FM 91 Karachi 535
Total Spots 13,115
Number of Radio Spots - Punjab Commission on the Status of Women

45 | P a g e
 Sr. No. FM Network Stations/City No. of Spots
1 Bahawalpur 67
2 Radio Awaz Bhalwal/Sargodha 67
3 Rajanpur 67
Radio Pakistan – FM
4 Multan 67
93
5 FM 91 Islamabad/Rawalpindi 67
6 Islamabad/Rawalpindi 67
7 FM 100 Rahimyar Khan 67
8 Multan 67
9 FM 101 Sialkot 67
Total 603

Performance Assessment - Radio

Black Box Sounds was selected to develop the radio messages, while Interflow
Communications was selected air the messages. Neither faced any challenges in developing
or airing the radio messages.

6.33 Million
Input £29,511 Output
13,718 Spots Outcome People
Reached

TELEVISION

Television, as a communication medium is convenient and also flexible. Adverts can reach
millions of viewers with ease, while giving the producers the flexibility to use various audio
and visual effects. These make adverts unforgettable and emotional and drive home the key
messages.

For the campaign, two adverts of approximately 2.5 minutes were produced and approved by
the Election Commission of Pakistan. The first advert was produced in Urdu for Punjab and
Urdu and Sindhi for Sindh and the second advert was produced in Urdu. The second advert
was only produced for Phase 2 and 3 of the local government elections. Both adverts
motivated and encouraged women to cast their vote. They showed the voting process at the
polling booth for the voter to follow the process. However, the second advert, produced with

46 | P a g e
UNDP’s Good Will ambassador, Hadiqa Kiani, had an urban appeal and might have been
effective to get out the vote as a local celebrity is delivering the message. These adverts were
used in the Final Call and Action Periods to ‘Get-Out-The-Vote’. The first advert was shown
on regional channels and the second one was shown on the widely watched national channels.

The adverts were broadcasted 105 times on 12 Television channels. Reliable data on
viewership is not available. The combined reach estimated by the TV companies is 28
million people. However, they are unable to verify such claims.

Name of Channels and Number of Spots

Sr.
Channels Total Spots
No.
1 PTV 10
2 Hum TV 11
3 Geo Entertainment 8
4 ARY Digital 7
5 Express Entertainment 8
6 ATV 15
7 KTN 6
8 Sindh TV 9
9 Mehran TV 9
10 Apna TV 5
11 Punjab TV 9
12 Waseeb 8
Total 105

Performance Assessment – Television

Black Box Sounds was selected to produce the television adverts, while Interflow
Communications was selected to broadcast the adverts. Interflow Communications did face a
challenge, which they managed to overcome to the best of their ability.

Challenge

A challenge faced was:-

 Droppage of television spots. However, the partner rescheduled some of the spots for
a different time and/or in the next election phase. Overall, 6% of the spots were
dropped, which is below the media industry average 10-15%.

47 | P a g e
 Input £56,847 Output
105 TV Spots Outcome People
Reached

NEWSPAPERS

The coloured adverts provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan were placed on the
front pages of 20 regional newspapers without the ECP logo for the three phases of the local
government elections. Each newspaper carried 3 inserts, thus a total of 60 inserts were
printed. There was a two day delay by the ECP in providing the adverts for Phase 3.
Therefore, UNDP designed its own advert, which was printed on one day. In addition, a day
or two gap was given to cover the number of inserts in case of a last minute drop.

Screenshot of Daily Apeal from 2nd of December, 2016

48 | P a g e
 Screenshot of Nawa-i- Bhakkar from 29th October, 2016

Name of Newspaper, Readership and Number of Inserts

Reliable data on viewership is not available. The combined reach estimated by the
Newspaper companies is over 6 million people. However, they are unable to verify such
claims.

Sr.
Name of Newspaper Stations/City Circulation Readership Inserts
No

Punjab
1 Nawa-i-Waqt Lahore-Multan 335,652 2,013,912 3
2 Khabrain Lahore-Multan 237,739 1,426,434 3
3 Nawa-i-Bhakkar Bhakkar 25,000 150,000 3
4 Jazba Gujrat 22,000 132,000 3
5 Karnama Lodhran 22,000 132,000 3
6 Pegham Faisalabad 25,000 150,000 3
7 Naya Daur Multan 20,000 120,000 3
8 Sayadat Bahawalpur 20,000 120,000 3

49 | P a g e
9 Janch Jhang 15,000 90,000 3
10 Abaseen Rahim Yar Khan 22,000 132,000 3
11 Wifaq News Sargodha 22,000 132,000 3
Sindh
12 Khabroon Sukkur 22,000 132,000 3
13 Ibrat Hyderabad 40,000 240,000 3
14 Kawish Hyderabad 80,000 480,000 3
15 Qaumi Karachi 30,000 180,000 3
16 Ummat Karachi 70,000 420,000 3
17 Awami Awaz Karachi 30,000 180,000 3
18 Imroz Karachi 22,000 132,000 3
19 Apeal Karachi 25,000 150,000 3
20 Jurrat Karachi 25,000 150,000 3
Total 21

Performance Assessment – Newspapers

The Brandpartnership was selected to insert the newspaper adverts. They did face a
challenge, but managed to resolve it quickly and effectively.

Challenge

A challenge faced was:-

 Some newspaper inserts were dropped. However, the partner had given a day or two
gap between inserts to overcome this issue. The Brandpartnership had successfully
printed 60 inserts.

6,662,346
60 Newspaper
Input £27,452 Output Inserts
Outcome People
Reached

50 | P a g e
OUTDOOR MEDIA
Billboards

Billboards are an effective method of disseminating short messages using eye catching
designs. For the voter education campaign, the project, with the design approval from the
Election Commission of Pakistan, displayed 85 billboards across the six major cities of
Punjab and Sindh, which covered 11 districts. These billboards were displayed for a one
month period over the three phases of the elections. The locations of these billboards were
chosen based on prominence to catch the eye of travellers and pedestrians. There were certain
spaces where larger size billboards of 60 by 20 were not available, so smaller ones were
placed of 45 by 15 or 20 by 10, which were compensated by increasing the quantity to 2 or
more.

Billboard Design

The messages in Urdu on the billboard encouraged women to cast their votes to develop their
community and to make their vote act as their voice and their future. The messaging also
stated the requirement of a CNIC to cast a vote and also promotes texting to 8300 for further
details on the vote and location. The images on the billboards are similar to that of the transit
media. The design on the billboard includes the campaign logo of a female (hand) casting her
vote with a tick mark next to it and the text, which reads as local government elections- My
Vote My Voice and provincial monuments with the national flag of Pakistan in the
background. As in the design of the transit media, there is an image of a woman’s CNIC next
to the message on the requirement of the CNIC to cast a vote. The imagery used was
deliberately shaded in colour in order to make the advertisement eye catching.

Billboard Design (English Version)

51 | P a g e
Billboard Design (Urdu Original)

Location of Billboards

Sr. No. Province District Quantity

1 Faisalabad 13
2 Lahore 19
Punjab
3 Rawalpindi 9
4 Multan 14
5 Karachi (6 districts) 21
Sindh
6 Hyderabad 9
Total 85

Performance Assessment - Billboards

Interflow Communications was selected to produce and display the billboards for the voter
education campaign in Punjab and Sindh. They have over 30 years of experience in
marketing communications service. Interflow Communications placed 85 billboards across
11 districts over the three phases of the elections. They did face some challenges, but were
able to find quick and effective solutions to them.

Challenges

Some of the challenges faced were:-

 Unavailability of requested billboard size in some locations. This problem was

compensated by displaying several smaller sized billboards in its place.
 Three of the voter education billboards were replaced by political party billboards.
The partner followed up to reaffix the ECP approved billboards. Of the three

52 | P a g e
 billboards, two billboards were reaffixed two days after and one billboard was
displayed at an alternate site as a mitigation measure to avoid a security risk. In
addition, the partner displayed three additional billboards in another district (Multan).

Pre-Election Monitoring

UNDP deployed three teams simultaneously in each province across the 11 districts to
monitor the display of billboards. Below are some of their findings:-

 21 billboard and bridge panel sites were visited to inspect the 15 reported billboards
and 6 bridge panels. The locations of the billboards and bridge panels were spread out
across districts Karachi and Malir namely in Clifton, Allah Wala Town, Askari 4,
Saddar Town, Gulshan Town, Surjani/New Karachi/Nusrat Bhutto Colony, Jamshed
Town/Shikarpur Colony, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Site area, Orangi Town,
Agra Taj Colony, Malir/Shah Town/Shah Faisal Town, Kemari Town and Gulberg.
The inspected billboards and bridge panels were properly affixed at prominent
locations reported by the partner. The selected locations are visible to many travellers
and passerbys. There was one billboard in Kemari Town (Karachi) that was not
affixed and the space was empty. The partner affixed the billboard within 24 hours.
The monitoring team revisited Kemari Town and photographed the billboard.

 The billboards in Multan were installed at prominent location and were found in
excellent condition.

 In Lahore, the billboards were installed at major locations.

 In Hyderabad, the monitoring team found the voter education skin replaced by a
political party skin. The partner reinstalled the voter education skin after a discussion
with the political party members.

Participant Quotes

 “I sent a text to 8300 after seeing the bridge panel on elections. It was very helpful.”
(Muhammad Afzal, a newspaper seller)

 “The billboard shows the requirement to take one’s CNIC to cast one’s vote. I will
vote.” (Mukhtar Bano at Site Area)

 “It is a very useful initiative. I have seen a lot of people using 8300 number written on
the billboard to get details of their polling stations. I will vote in the upcoming
election along with my family.” (Baber Ahmad , a street vendor)

 “The billboard reminds us that we need to have our original ID card to cast our
votes.” (Shahabuddin, a shop keeper)

53 | P a g e
TRANSIT MEDIA

Transit Media is a form of outdoor advertising that displays messages in or on the outside of
vehicles such as the side of a van. The result is essentially a mobile billboard. This innovative
engagement tool reaches a large audience of the general public as it not only targets van
commuters, but also other drivers, passengers, pedestrians and business/shop owners. The
wrapped vans have large, colourful and catchy designs that capture the attention of the public.
As vans are moving, the location of this means of engagement varies and is flexible. Also,
the recall rate of this type of engagement tool is higher than the traditional billboards.
However, the two used in combination will anchor the core messages.

UNDP strategically decided to wrap 300 vans on all four sides to reach a larger target
audience. Vans, with routes from one district to another or multiple districts were mostly used
to cover a broad spectrum of audiences across Punjab and Sindh for the three phases of
elections. The core messages were the same as the billboards in Urdu and Sindhi to have a
resonating effect among target audiences. The imagery used was deliberately shaded in
colour in order to make the advertisement visually appealing and to attract attention.

A Transit Media Vehicle in the Field

Vehicle Routes

Punjab
Sr. No. of
City Route
No. Vehicles

54 | P a g e
 Lahore 4
Langy Khoja 2

Kunja 4

Alipur Chatta 1

1 Gujrat Mandibahaudin Phalia 2

Gujranwala 2

Sialkot 2

Sargodha 1

Head Faqeeran Gojra 1

Route 148, Route 102, Route 105, Route
2 Lahore 106, Route 107, Route 108, Route 143 and 25
Route 145
Faisalabad
3 Route B9, Route B4 and Route B8 10
Khansar 2
Mianwali 1
Karor 1
Dera 2
4 Bhakkar Layyah 4
Gohar Khan 1
Mankera 1
Jhang 1
Dajol & Kotla 1
Gujranwala 6
Gujrat 1

Sialkot 1
5 Hafizabad
Sheikupura 3

Faisalabad 1

Alipur 3
Pind Dadankhan 1
Pindigheb 1
6 Jhelum
Mandi 1
Lahore 4

55 | P a g e
 Kotli 1
Gujrat 1
Nara 1
Nakakhalaspur 1
Sangoi 1
Faizabad 1
Khurd 1
Chakomal 1
Zafar Wall 3
Kingra 3
7 Sialkot
Narowal 2
Shakar Garh 1
Alipur Chatta 1
Nishtar 5
Mailse 2
Local Route 4
Jalalpur 1
8 Multan Layyah 3
Route No. 3 1
Awasti Maloon 1
Dera Ghazi Khan 6
Jhang/Sharkot 5
Muzzafargarh 8
Yazman 2
Hasilpur 3
Khachi Wala 1
Tele Wala 1
9 Bahawalpur
Multan 3
Bahawalnagar 1
Ahmad Pur 1
Khot Abbas 1
Sadiqabad 7
10 Rahim Yar Khan Abuzabi Palace 2
Khanpur 2
11 Rawalpindi 1C 2

56 | P a g e
 1 4
7 2
3 1
Murree 1
Sindh
Rato Dero 2
Sajawal 1
Meru Khan 1
1 Shahdadkot
Sukkur 2
UBO Ser Thal 1
Larkana 14
Larkana 3
Naseerabad 3
2 Qambar
Sukkur 3
Warah 2
Qambar 1
Khairpur 4
Radhan 1
Naseerabad 2
3 Larkana Ranipur 2
PanoAqil 2
Badah 1
Riazabad 1
Radah 1
4 Kandkot Sukkur, Kashmore, Shikarpur and Thull 22
Thatta 4
Sajawal – Thatta 4
Bathoro – Thatta 3
Thudo – Badin 3
5 Hyderabad Hyderabad – Badin 6
Hyderabad – Sajawal 1
Golarchi – Badin 3
Sehwan 1
Alashehzadpur 2
Local Route - Gulshan Ghazi Adda 11
6 Karachi Local Route - Qayumabad Adda 9
Local Route - Baldia Adda 6
Total 300

57 | P a g e
Performance Assessment – Transit Media

Black Box Sounds was selected to produce and wrap skins on 300 vehicles for the voter
education campaign in Punjab and Sindh over the three phases of the local government
elections. They are a development-communications company specializing in productions and
public awareness campaigns aimed at social and developmental issues, behavioural change
communication and mass awareness. During the campaign period, they did face some
challenges, which they effectively overcame.

Challenges

Some of the challenges faced were:-

 In Karachi, there were limited Hiaces and the ones that were available were in terrible
condition with broken doors. Therefore, the partner used bigger coaches for the
purpose of the campaign to overcome this problem.
 Law enforcements agencies in high risk areas like Baldia Town would ask teams to
provide a no objection certificate (NOC). The teams carried this on them to avoid any
problems.
 There were instances of removal of skins by van owners after a few days. The partner
had monitoring teams in the field, which repasted skins where necessary.

Pre-Election Monitoring

Besides, the partner monitoring teams, UNDP deployed three teams simultaneously in each
province to monitor the display of billboards. Below are some of their findings:-

 Two vehicles covered in voter education (VE) skins were seen at van stops at Thatta
and Hyderabad. These vehicles were covered with the pana-flex skins on all four
sides. The messages on the vehicles were in Sindhi. Five vans were observed which
had removed VE skins from one or more sides while five drivers have completely
removed VE skins from their vehicles. These vehicles were photographed in Thatta,
Badin, Sajawal and Hyderabad and the issue was brought into the notice of the
vendor. The skins were re-installed the next day and the vendor shared photographs of
the newly pasted VE skins on these vehicles.

 Two vehicles covered in voter education skins were inspected at the bus terminals in
Jhelum and Hafizabad. Four vehicles were spotted on route in Hafizabad. 17 vehicles
were verified; 12 in Jhelum by 15 in Hafizabad by transport staff. The inspected
vehicles were covered with the pana-flex skins on all four sides. The messages on the
vehicles were in Urdu.

 The vehicles 2 vehicles covered in voter education skins were inspected at the bus
terminals in Karachi. Four vehicles were spotted on route; two in Saddar Town, one in
Agra Taj Colony and one in Baldia Town. 26 vehicles were verified; 13 at the bus
terminal of the Z2 route in Baldia Town; 12 at the bus terminal of the G7 and G 25

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 routes in Gulshan Ghazi and 1 at the bus terminal at the Qayyoom abad and Shareef
abad. The inspected vehicles were covered with the voter education pana-flex skins.
The messages on the vehicles were in Urdu

 Transit media was also found on the roads and bus stands of Lahore, Faisalabad and
Bhakkar

 9 vehicles covered in voter education skins were seen on route, 6 in Bahawalpur and 3
in Multan. These vehicles were covered with the pana-flex skins on all four sides. The
messages on the vehicles were in Urdu.

 Two vehicles covered in voter education skins were inspected at the bus terminal in
Kashmore. Six vehicles were spotted on route; two from Kashmore to Sukkur, two
from Shikarpur to Sukkur and two in Larkana. 25 vehicles were verified; 15 in
Kashmore by petrol pump staff and 10 in Larkana by transport staff. These vehicles
were covered with the pana-flex skins on all four sides. The messages on the vehicles
were in Sindhi.

 5 vehicles covered in voter education skins were seen on route in Kambar

Shahdadkot. These vehicles were covered with the pana-flex skins on all four sides.
The messages on the vehicles were in Sindhi

Participant Quotes

 “It is our national responsibility to vote. These wrapped vehicles are an effective way
to pass on the message.” (Shaukat Zaheer from Jhelum)

 “Educated women also come here to travel. When they see the wrapped vehicles, they
feel happy that they are also being encouraged to vote. This is the first time we have
seen something like this. My family and I, including the women in our family, will
definitely cast our votes.” (Riaz Butt, manager in charge at bus terminal in Jhelum)

 “Women should cast their votes. This is the message that is emphasized on the bus.
They should vote as local government elections will help solve local problems with
local solutions. The local problems are lack of clean water, streets and no proper
disposal of garbage.” (Muhammad Zahid, transport in charge, at G7 bus terminal)

 “Voting is a right also for women. Women should vote to improve their communities
with respect to clean water, streets and garbage.” (Abdul Saboor, transport in charge,
at G7 bus terminal)

 “I am excited to vote in this election. I plan to go door-to-door to convince men and

women to cast their votes. I have seen the skins on many buses and the women

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 awareness message in these banners is very obvious. It is a great step for women
empowerment.” (Majid Bhatti, transport staff)

580,920
300 Transit
Input £102,314 Output Outcome people
Vehicles
reached

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DIGITAL MEDIA
SMS/TEXT MESSAGE

Text message or short message service (SMS) is an effective campaign tool to help
communicate a message, which will raise awareness and give key information to people. The
advantages of using SMS is that it is fast and immediate, it is delivered to your personal
communication device and the same message can be sent to many mobile users at once.
However, during a campaign, it is important to deliver the right message at the right time to
the right audience. This can encourage positive behavioural changes in people. It is an
effective tool to reach people that will be difficult to do so other campaign tools.

The UNDP team developed a short message in the national languages for dissemination to the
target audience. The text message was sent out a day before the election (Final Call Period)
and on the day of the election (Action Period) in Urdu and Sindhi, which said ‘Vote in the
local government election … Your vote is your voice’. The handle used was WomenVote.
The table below gives the district wise breakdown of the text messages sent.

District-wise Breakdown of SMS

No. of Attempted SMS

District
Messages
Punjab
Lodhran 40,598
Vehari 34,985
Okara 66,402
Pakpattan 32,045
Bahawalnagar 37,256
Faisalabad 79,879
Bhakkar 39,954
Lahore 88,956
Kasur 35,645
Nankana Sahib 32,710
Gujrat 47,881
Chakwal 41,225
Sargodha 34,116
Gujranwala 36,943
Sahiwal 15,083

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 Attock 10,433
Jhelum 10,017
Mianwali 8,647
Chiniot 7,898
Toba Tek Singh 13,270
Hafizabad 9,992
Mandi Bahuddin 9,497
Sheikupura 27,177
Khanewal 16,927
Rahim Yar Khan 38,375
Bahawalpur 38,375
Multan 95,000
DG Khan 34,000
Muzaffargarh 33,500
Layyah 33,362
Jhang 32,111
Sialkot 32,000
Rawalpindi 16,500
Sindh
Khairpur 51,212
Sukkar 75,125
Ghotki 41,525
Larkana 71,544
Shikarpur 53,326
Shahdadkot 41,231
Jacobabad 42,365
Kashmore 41,123
Badin 10,975
Dadu 16,294
Hyderabad 37,568
Jamshoro 11,352
Matiari 5,937
Mirpurkhas 15,146

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 Naushero Feroze 15,647
Sajawal 9,653
Sanghar 14,026
Benazirabad 11,346
Tando Allahyar 5,309
Tando Muhammad
5,280
Khan
Thatta 10,494
Tharparkar 11,039
Umerkot 19,993
Karachi (6 districts) 353,223
Total 2,101,492
Successful SMS Messages Sent 2,099,038

Performance Assessment – SMS/Text Message

Black Box Sounds was selected to run the SMS campaign to raise awareness on the local
government elections in Punjab and Sindh. The Black Box Sounds team tested the software
before the launch of the campaign to make sure that there were no problems with it.

2,099,038
2,099,038
Input £5,207 Output Outcome people
SMS
reached

Voice Messages

Voice messages, like text messages, will communicate key messages to your communication
device in a fast and immediate manner. This form of communication has the added advantage
of easily targeting an illiterate audience.

The UNDP team developed two short voice messages in the national languages for
dissemination to the target audience. The voice messages went out a day before the election
(Final Call Period) and on the day of the election (Action Period) in Urdu, Seraiki and Sindhi.
A total of 1,697,192 voice messages (robo calls) were released the day before the election

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and on Election Day to get out the vote in Urdu, Seraiki and Sindhi. The scripts of the
messages are below
1. Greetings!!! Tomorrow are local government elections in your district. Make your
vote act as your voice and vote for the development of your community.

2. Greetings!!! Today are local government elections in your district. Make your vote act
as your voice and vote for the development of your community.

The table below shows the district wise breakdown of the voice messages.

District-wise Breakdown of Voice Messages

No. of Attempted Voice

District
Messages
Punjab
Lodhran 33,102
Vehari 26,529
Okara 33,419
Pakpattan 27,879
Bahawalnagar 23,902
Faisalabad 58,901
Bhakkar 24,702
Lahore 70,652
Kasur 27,811
Nankana Sahib 24,952
Gujrat 31,965
Chakwal 36,011
Sargodha 27,807
Gujranwala 28,794
Sahiwal 12,689
Attock 8,777
Jhelum 10,017
Mianwali 7,274
Chiniot 6,644
Toba Tek Singh 11,163

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 Hafizabad 9,992
Mandi Bahuddin 7,990
Sheikupura 22,863
Khanewal 14,240
Rahim Yar Khan 39,951
Bahawalpur 39,951
Multan 39,951
DG Khan 39,951
Muzaffargarh 39,951
Layyah 39,951
Jhang 39,951
Sialkot 39,961
Rawalpindi 18,802
Sindh
Khairpur 39,165
Sukkar 69,632
Ghotki 35,465
Larkana 61,452
Shikarpur 47,337
Shahdadkot 39,784
Jacobabad 37,312
Kashmore 39,967
Badin 10,975
Dadu 11,128
Hyderabad 30,763
Jamshoro 9,550
Matiari 4,994
Mirpurkhas 12,741
Naushero Feroze 13,163
Sajawal 8,121
Sanghar 11,799
Benazirabad 10,386
Tando Allahyar 4,466

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 Tando Muhammad
4,442
Khan
Thatta 10,147
Tharparkar 10,548
Umerkot 16,769
Karachi (6 districts) 338,420
Total 1,805,021
Successful Voice Messages 1,697,192

Performance Assessment – Voice Messages

Black Box Sounds was selected to run the voice message component of the voter education
campaign in Punjab and Sindh. They tested the software before the launch of the campaign
to make sure that there were no problems with it.

1,697,192 1,697,192
Input £10,524 Output Voice Outcome people
Messages reached

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Information, Education & Communication (IEC) Material Distribution

The IEC material was disseminated using various distribution networks. The aim was to
reach out to as many people as possible within the target audience especially women in the
low voter turnout districts. The project engaged five CSOs (Global Education Economic and
Social Empowerment (GEESE), Aurat Foundation, PAHEL Pakistan, Sindh Radiant
Organization and AZM Foundation) who were conducting voter education activities and also
distribute the IEC material in various districts of Punjab and Sindh. CHANAN the street
theatre group, Free and Fair Elections Network (FAFEN), National Youth Assembly (NYA),
World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also
contributed to distributing the material over different phases in both the provinces at the
grassroots level.

The IEC material consisted of posters, flyers, stickers (Urdu and Sindhi for Sindh and Urdu
for Punjab), paper cups and wrist bands.

CSOs

GEESE was engaged to carry out voter education in two districts of Punjab (D.G.Khan and
Bhakkar). The CSO distributed about 138,000 leaflets, stickers, flyers and 25,000 wrist
bands.

AZM Foundation conducted voter education activities in Punjab (districts Bahawalpur and
Multan), where they distributed 340,000 sets of the IEC material in both the districts.

Aurat Foundation was engaged in the Sindh province (Larkana and Dadu). The CSO
distributed 60,065 sets of IEC material which were displayed at prominent locations and
distributed among participants.

Sindh Radiant Organization (SRO) was engaged in Sindh, districts Jamshoro and Thatta.
100,000 sets in both districts were displayed and distributed among the participants, the
process posters were also displayed at prominent public places and other locations in the
program area.

PEHAL Pakistan conducted voter education campaign in Sindh districts Shikarpur and
Kamber Shahdadkot. 88,000 sets of IEC material was distributed among the participants in
both the districts.

CHANAN

CHANAN conducted street theatres in Sindh and Punjab. They distributed 197,000 sets of
IEC material in Kashmore, Jacobabad, Hafizabad, Jehlum and Badin. While performing the
street theatres which were targeted towards women, they distributed the material among all
the participants (in schools and universities etc.)

FAFEN

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FAFEN distributed 49,200 sets of the IEC material using their own networks in various
districts of Sindh and Punjab.

National Youth Assembly

The National Youth Assembly was extremely keen to conduct voter education campaign for
UNDP. They distributed 1,214,825 sets of the IEC material (flyers, posters, stickers, wrist
bands and paper cups) in various districts of Sindh and Punjab.

UNICEF and WFP

Our partners UNICEF and WFP distributed 367,500 sets of the material mainly in Karachi,
Sindh.

Election Commission of Pakistan

57,400 sets of process posters were sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan, to be place
at all the polling stations in both the provinces. These posters helped the voters to understand
the process of voting while they are inside the polling station to vote.

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 VALUE FOR MONEY

The chart below provides a detailed breakdown of where UNDP believes it has provided
value for money for each programme component.

Voter Education to Diminish Barriers to Women Voting in Local Government Elections

in Punjab and Sindh

Inputs Output Outcome

Information, Education and 3,300,000 Flyers, Posters, Stickers

Communication Material and Wrist Bands distributed Estimated 3,300,000
(IEC) of people reached
GBP 145,265

Radio Messages of 36 Radio messages produced and 6.33 Million

13,718 spots broadcasted Listeners of
GBP 29,511
radio

TV Adverts (Inserts) of Verifiable

2 TV Adverts produced and 105
GBP 56,847 times aired on TV channels viewership data
is unavailable

Print Media of Estimated

60 Newspapers Adverts placed in 20
regional newspapers of Punjab and 6,662,346
GBP 27,452
Sindh readership

Transit Media of Estimated 580,920

300 Vehicles wrapped in VE Skins people reached
GBP 102,314

Digital Media of 2,099,038 SMS and 1,697,192 Voice 1.9 Million Unique
Messages released no. reached
GBP 15,730

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 Inputs Output Outcome

Micro Capital Grant CSOs engaged for Voter Education

in 10 districts 99,150 people
Agreement with CSOs of
participated in
GBP 144,951
CSO activities

Outdoor (Billboards) of GBP No. figure

85 Billboard displayed in 11districts
169,932 available

Street Theatre of GBP

668 Street theatre performances in 6 42,536 people
69,272
districts participated

Operational Cost of GBP Effectively

70,819 6 Staff, 3 ICs,6 Monitoring Visits, managed and
monitored the
project

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LESSONS LEARNED
This section details lessons learned from the campaign to guide future programming efforts, and
maps out the administrative and legal reforms that need to be implemented in order to remove
barriers which prevent women from fully participating in the democratic process in Pakistan.

Appetite and Demand

 It has been observed during the execution of this project that there is a strong need and
appetite for activities at the community level to communicate voter education messages
that are tailored to the local cultural context.
 It has been suggested by numerous participants that more community engagement and
interactive activities should be arranged to promote voter education, such as female social
mobilization and implementing local youth volunteers program to increase the awareness
about electoral processes and the importance of voting.

Men Are a Key Target Audience

 The male participants mostly said men should be engaged more in such campaigns to
help change their attitudes about women voting.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers to Women Voting

 Numerous women who were engaged during the campaign called for a more focused
effort on working with community elders and tribal leaders to overcome cultural
resistance to women voting. This was particularly prevalent in Shangla and
Battagram.

It is not just about cultural barriers

 Many men who were interviewed said that if security conditions were improved they
would change their minds about women voting.
 .

Administrative and Legal Reforms

The data emerging from the campaign on the barriers to women voting underline the reality
that in certain areas, even if women are motivated to vote as a consequence of voter
education efforts, they are often prevented from doing so on Election Day. Administrative
and legislative steps are needed to remove these barriers and sanction those who violate the
law in future elections:

To The ECP:

 Establish separate polling stations for men and women. Sanction those (violation of
ROPA) who merge male and female polling stations after the polling schedule has
been issued by Returning Officers.
 Ensure only female polling officials are present at female polling station

71 | P a g e
  Ensure that polling stations are accessible to women in remote areas (1-2 kilometres
from their houses?)
 Initiate legal proceeding against those who bar women from voting or conspire to stop
them from voting

To the Provincial Governments:

 Ensure female police officers are on duty at female polling stations

 Improve security at sensitive polling stations in order to deny opportunities for men to
claim that it is ‘not safe’ for women to vote.

To Political Parties

 Reach a cross-party consensus on passing a legislative amendment that a) declares

null and void the results in constituencies where there is less than a specific turnout b)
rejects the results from polling stations in areas where women have been
banned/prevented from voting.

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