Feeling so important! In 63 years, I will vote for the first time.
” I never thought that I could get my CNIC at the age of 63, and it would be a hassle-free. Now, I am very enthusiastic about casting my first-ever vote in the upcoming elections.”
Ms. Fatima Bibi is a 63 year old live in village Dhanni Shahdra at the bank of river Jehlum. She spends most of her time on household chores. She belongs to a low-income family who earns through daily wages. She had desires to cast her vote and wanted to elect the person of her choice so that the government schemes could support her. In other words, she was looking for livelihood support from the government. But due to the absence of a Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC), she was unable to do so.
Roshan Youth Welfare Organization team visited Fatima Bibi village to conduct several mobilization meetings and formed a Village Mobilization Committee (VMC) under their program for ” Supporting women CNIC Registration and Political Education.” The team created a widespread awareness in the community by conducting mobilization and sensitization training sessions. Fatima Bibi was present during the awareness sessions and raised her concern for not having even a single document that could assist her in the CNIC registration process.
After learning about the Fatima Bibi case, by involving the community elders, RYWO team helped her in getting a birth certificate from Local Government. Later, she was facilitated for CNIC registration during the CNIC registration camp, and within two weeks, she received her CNIC.
” I never thought that I could get my CNIC at the age of 63, and it would be hassle-free. Now, I am very enthusiastic about casting my first-ever vote in the upcoming elections.”
“CNIC registration could cost us more than PKR 5000 (approx. $45) as we don’t have any CNIC registration center in our tehsil. The cost is equal to the cost of half month groceries, which I didn’t want to lose.”
“I was so demoralized by the response from the officers at NADRA my husband and I decided not to try again as it was a waste of money and effort.”
“Before attending the meeting, I was unaware of the benefits of a CNIC. I applied for the financial aid services of several governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) but never received any assistance due to the non-availability of a CNIC.”
“At this age, I am unable to bear more as I have already paid a huge cost for not having CNIC. In our culture, women rarely go to school and cast vote, and one of the reasons for this all is poverty” shared Saforah.