Maryam recounts over a decade-long struggle for place in 'male-dominated' PML-N

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Friday said after striving very hard for 12 to 13 years she managed to secure a prominent position for herself in her “historically male-dominated” political party — the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Speaking at an International Women’s Day ceremony in Lahore, Maryam said PML-N used to be a male-dominated party, but now you would see women at the forefront of the party. You could witness a significant presence of women attending PML-N rallies and conventions, she added.

She said her achievements were a message to society's women that if they wanted to do something then being a woman should not be a hurdle in their way to realise their dreams.

The newly appointed chief minister wished she was replaced by a woman in Punjab and also expressed the desire that women get elected to the chief executive's office in other provinces too. Women were exhibiting stellar performances in all walks of life, she said.

Maryam had taken the oath of the top provincial office on February 26, shortly after being elected as the first woman chief minister of the province.

The PML-N scion, who became the first-ever female CM in Pakistan’s history, won the elections after obtaining 220 votes in the provincial assembly.

Addressing the event, the Punjab chief minister said women had to face different problems including harassment, adding that she, too, became an iron lady following similar experiences. Maryam warned that harassment of women was her "red line".

She further lamented the rise in cases of physical abuse which has become a daily norm among multiple evils in society. The chief minister also deplored the restrictions levelled on women who complained about the injustice.

“Parents and siblings should instil confidence in women. A girl who steps out of her mother’s cradle as a confident person, she goes on to become a strong woman,” she said.

The chief minister apprised the forum that her government had created a mobile phone application for the protection of women. The students of school, college and university as well as working women should use the app, she maintained.

Maryam hailed three female traffic pilots who led her convoy to the women’s day ceremony.

“So so proud of these female traffic pilots leading me to the women’s day ceremony. Shabash,” she wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.