People’s Majlis of the Republic of Maldives interaction with Federal WPC

A Parliamentary Delegation from the People’s Majlis of the Republic of Maldives visited the Parliament House, Islamabad, and held an interaction with the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) of the National Assembly of Pakistan to exchange experiences on women’s political participation, parliamentary mechanisms and legislative initiatives for the advancement of women.

Dr. Shahida Rehmani, Secretary WPC, warmly welcomed the Maldivian delegation and highlighted the longstanding and cordial relations between Pakistan and Maldives. Referring to the WPC’s earlier engagement with the Maldivian Parliament in September 2025, she emphasized the importance of sustained parliamentary exchanges and sharing of legislative and institutional experiences concerning women.

Dr. Shahida briefed the delegation on the cross-party structure and functioning of the WPC, including its General Assembly, Working Council and thematic Sub-Committees. She highlighted the Caucus’s work on women’s political participation, legislative scrutiny, gender-responsive budgeting, prevention of gender-based violence and women’s health. She stressed that women’s representation should translate into meaningful participation in legislation, parliamentary committees, oversight and decision-making.

She also shared Pakistan’s experience of reserved seats, cross-party caucusing and parliamentary cooperation, and highlighted recent WPC initiatives, including strengthening gender-responsive budgeting and the Pakistan Women Parliamentary Leaders’ Portal for networking, knowledge-sharing, legislative mapping, mentorship, online learning and preservation of institutional memory.

Dr. Shahida expressed particular interest in the Maldivian experience of strengthening women’s participation at the local level. She noted the potential for cooperation on women’s political representation, legislative scrutiny, gender-responsive budgeting, women’s health, prevention of gender-based violence, disability inclusion and gender-disaggregated data. She proposed exploring a Pakistan–Maldives Women Parliamentarians’ Technical Exchange to facilitate regular technical interaction and sharing of parliamentary practices.

She further stated that, should the People’s Majlis consider establishing a Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, the WPC would be pleased to share its institutional experience regarding structure, membership, Terms of Reference, meeting mechanisms, annual planning, reporting and coordination with parliamentary committees and stakeholders.

The Maldivian delegation appreciated the briefing and Pakistan’s experience of cross-party parliamentary cooperation. The delegation shared perspectives on women’s political participation in the Maldives and highlighted initiatives aimed at strengthening women’s leadership and participation in democratic and local governance structures. Particular reference was made to the Practice Parliament for Women, implemented jointly by UNDP Maldives and the People’s Majlis, which has benefited more than 260 women since its inception in 2021. The programme provides women, including local councillors, community leaders and other stakeholders, with practical exposure to parliamentary processes and leadership.

The delegation also shared the Maldives’ experience regarding the 33% quota for women in local councils, which has contributed to women’s representation at the local level reaching nearly 40%. At the national level, the delegation discussed the continuing need to strengthen women’s representation and meaningful participation in the People’s Majlis. Recent UN reporting records women’s representation in the national parliament at approximately 3.2%, underscoring the scope for continued institutional and legislative dialogue.

Both sides emphasized the value of parliamentary networking, technical exchanges and sharing of good practices to strengthen women’s effective participation in political and legislative processes. The interaction concluded with a shared understanding to explore practical avenues for continued cooperation between women parliamentarians of Pakistan and Maldives, particularly in the areas of political representation, legislative scrutiny, gender-responsive budgeting, women’s health and prevention of gender-based violence.