Women in the electoral fray

ISLAMABAD: Major political parties have also fielded various women as their candidates in different constituencies across country. Some of them are seasoned politicians and some are relatively new entrants in the arena. Prominent among them include: Tahmina Daultana, Firdous Ashiq, Mehreen Raja, Saira Afzal, Nafisa Shah, Yasmin Rashid, Shazia Marri, Raheela Magsi, Kanwal Shouzab, Maryam Nawaz, Meherbano Qureshi, Nausheen Iftikhar, Saira Bano, Ghulam Bibi, Shazra Mansab, Shandana Gulzar.

Details of some of them are as under:

Begum Tehmina Daultana

She is the daughter of Riyaz Daultana, the brother of former chief minister of Punjab Mumtaz Daultana. She played a prominent role in the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), along with Begum Kulsoom Nawaz.

Earlier, she was elected to the National Assembly on a seat from Vehari district. This time around, she is contesting from Vehari again and is up against PTI-backed candidate Tahir Iqbal. Begum Tahmina Daultana has usually been elected to the National Assembly on reserved seats for women.

Firdous Ashiq Awan

She is contesting the 2024 elections on the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) ticket from NA-70 Sialkot. She has been a member of the National Assembly twice. In the PTI government, she served as a special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM), and later on performed a role as an adviser to the chief minister Punjab.

This time around, she is up against the PMLN’s Armaghan Subhani, who has been elected as both MPA and MNA several times. His father Abdul Sattar Vario and uncle Chaudhry Akhtar Ali Vario have also served as members of the National Assembly several times.

The late Chaudhry Ameer Hussain had won from this constituency at least five times, going all the way to becoming the speaker of the National Assembly. PTI-backed Hafiz Ahmed Raza also belongs to the same constituency. He was earlier a member of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and is now participating in Pakistani politics. PPP’s Syed Ishtiaq Al-Hasan and TLP’s Muhammad Shahid are also running from this constituency.

Mehreen Anwar Raja

Former member of the National Assembly and PPP nominee Mehreen Anwar Raja is contesting from NA-51 Murree-Rawalpindi constituency. The PMLN won this seat in the last elections. This is Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s constituency. Abbasi is not contesting this election. Former MPA and general secretary of the PMLN Raja Ashfaq Sarwar’s son Raja Usama Ashfaq is contesting from this constituency.

Saira Afzal Tarar

She is the daughter-in-law of former president Rafiq Tarar and the daughter of former MNA Afzal Hussain Tarar. Tarar brought forward his daughter as a candidate in the 2008 elections. Saira won elections and was elected to the National Assembly. In the 2013 elections, she won from the same seat. In the 2018 elections, she lost against her rival Shaukat Bhatti. In the 2024 elections, she’ll be running against PTI-backed candidate Aneeqa Mehdi Bhatti from NA-67 Hafizabad.

Dr Nafisa Shah

She performed her duties as a nazim from 2001 to 2007 in Khairpur district. In the 2008 and 2013 elections, she got elected to the National Assembly on reserved seats by the PPP. However, in the 2018 elections, she contested elections on a general seat on a PPP ticket from NA-208 and was elected to the National Assembly. In the current elections, she is contesting from NA-202 Khairpur. She is up against the GDA’s Ghous Ali Shah and the PTI’s Ambreen Malik.

Dr Yasmin Rashid

A prominent member of the PTI, Dr Yasmin Rashid has served as a provincial minister for health after getting elected to the Punjab Assembly on reserved seats. She has also contested an election from NA-130 Lahore against Mian Nawaz Sharif, but lost. After Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification by the Supreme Court, Dr Yasmin Rashid contested against Kulsoom Nawaz, but lost again. This time too, she is up against PMLN supremo Nawaz Sharif. All eyes are on this constituency, as it is said to be a stronghold of the PTI.

Shazia Atta Marri

She was elected to the Sindh Assembly in the 2002 general election. In 2008, she was elected to the Sindh Assembly on reserved seats. She performed her role as Sindh’s information minister till 2010. In 2013, she contested elections from Sanghar district and won. In the 2018 elections, she won a seat from the same constituency.

Her father Atta Muhammad Marri was a member of the West Pakistan Assembly in 1967. In 1970 and the 1980s, he served as a member of the National Assembly. He served as the deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly from 1990 to 1993. Shazia Marri’s mother Parveen Marri remained a member of the Sindh Assembly from 1985 to 1986. Shazia Marri is running in this election from NA-209 Sanghar.

Raheela Magsi

GDA’s Raheela Magsi is prominent among contestants running from Sindh’s Tando Alahyar district. She served as nazim of the district from 2005 to 2010. In 2013, she joined the PMLN, and in 2015, she was appointed as a senator. In 2018, she severed ties with the PMLN and participated in the elections on a GDA ticket, but lost. This time around, she is contesting from NA-217 Tando Alahyar.

Kanwal Shouzab

She joined the PTI in 1997. In 2018, she participated in the Senate elections but lost. In the same year, she got elected to the National Assembly on reserved seats and remained a parliamentary secretary. After the no-confidence vote against Imran Khan, she resigned from her post. This time around, she is contesting against two step brothers – the PPP’s Makhdoom Syed Ali Hasan Gillani and the PMLN’s Makhdoom Saeed Samiul Hasan Gillani – from Bahawalpur.

Maryam Nawaz

Vice President of the PMLN Maryam Nawaz Sharif is a prominent contestant from NA-119 Lahore. This constituency is said to be a stronghold of the PMLN. This is for the first time that she’s contesting elections. In the 2018 elections, she had submitted her nomination papers, but she was disqualified by the courts before the polls. In that year, the PMLN’s Ali Parvez Malik won against the PTI’s Jamshed Iqbal Cheema. In 2013, multiple-time winner Parvez Malik won this seat. This time around, Maryam Nawaz is up against the PTI’s Shahzad Farooq, the PPP’s Iftikhar Shahid, and the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League’s Hafiz Abdur Raoof.

Meherbano Qureshi

She is the daughter of PTI Vice Chairperson Shah Mehmood Qureshi. She is contesting from NA-151 Multan – a seat that her father held before his disqualification. Before this, she contested from NA-157 in by-elections after her brother Zain Qureshi had to resign from the seat. She contested against PPP’s Syed Ali Musa Gillani, the son of former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gillani. In the 2024 elections, she is again up against Syed Ali Musa Gillani.

Syeda Nausheen Iftikhar

She is the daughter of Syed Iftikharul Hassan Gillani. After her father died in 2021, she ran against the PTI’s Ali Asjad Malhi in the bypolls and won, and this is how she got elected to the National Assembly for the first time. This time around, she is contesting from NA-73 Daska and is running against PTI-backed Ali Asjad Malhi.

Alia Hamza

In the 2018 elections, Alia Hamza got elected to the National Assembly on reserved seats as a PTI member. On September 27, 2018, she was elected by former PM Imran Khan as parliamentary secretary for Minister of Commerce and Textile. In April 2022, she resigned from her position along with other PTI members. This time around, she’s running from NA-118 Lahore and is up against the PMLN’s Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, the PPP’s Shahid Abbas, the JI’s Muhammad Shaukat, and the TLP’s Abid Hussain.

Saira Bano

She is a politician who became a member of the National Assembly in 2018. Before this, she served as a flight attendant. In 2018, she was elected to the NA by the GDA on reserved seats. In the 2024 elections, she is contesting on a GDA ticket from NA-210 Sanghar. She is up against the PPPP’s Salahuddin Junejo, the JI’s Kamran Aziz Ghauri, and the MQMP’s Muhammad Zakir Sheikh.

Sheherbano Sultan Bukhari

She is the granddaughter of Abdullah Shah Bukhari and the daughter of Basit Sultan Bukhari. In the 2024 elections, her uncle and JUIF member Haroon Sultan Bukhari is contesting against her from NA-177. In the past, Jamshed Ahmed Khan Dasti won from this constituency in the 2008 and 2013 elections. In the 2018 elections, Raza Rabbani Khar won this seat. Besides her uncle, the PTI-backed candidate, Moazzam Jatoi, is also running from this constituency.

Ghulam Bibi Bharwana

She is the daughter of five-time MNA Ghulam Haider Bharwana and four-time MNA Saleem Bibi Bharwana. Her maternal grandfather Malik Ghulam Haider Bharwana also served as an MNA. Ghulam Bibi is an independent candidate while her mother is a PTI-backed candidate, who was elected as an MPA on a PTI ticket in the previous elections. In the 2024 elections, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana changed her constituency from Jhang and will be running in the elections from Chiniot. The PMLN’s candidate from this constituency is Syed Raza Bukhari.

Shazra Mansab Kharal

She is a prominent name from an influential political family from Nankana Sahib. Her father was a five-time MNA from this constituency and had been active in politics since the Ayub Khan era. In 2015, after his death, Shazra emerged as a strong contender and won a seat in the National Assembly in the bypolls. In the 2018 elections, she lost against the PTI’s Brig Ijaz Shah by a thin margin. This time as well, she is contesting against Ijaz Shah from the NA-112 Nankana Sahib constituency. Many people believe this will be a close contest.

Aneeqa Mehdi Bhatti

She is the daughter of Mehdi Bhatti, and contesting from NA-67 Hafizabad. This is the only constituency in Pakistan where two women are contesting against each other. She is running against Saira Afzal Tarar. So far, the Tara and Bhatti families have contested against each other at least three times.

Rehana Imtiaz Dar

The mother of Usman and Umar Dar, Rehana is contesting from NA-71 Sialkot. The Dar family is quite popular in this constituency. Rehana’s husband Imtiazuddin Dar had served as the nazim of Sialkot. Rehana Imtiaz Dar is contesting against the PMLN’s stalwart Khawaja Asif, who won the 1993, 1996, 2002, 2008, 2013 and 2018 elections from here.

Qaisera Elahi

In Gujrat, Qaisera Elahi is contesting against her nephew Chaudhry Salik from NA-64 constituency. This is a direct result of the division created between the Chaudhry brothers.

Kausar Parveen Bhatti

She is contesting from NA-69. Kausar is a former secretary of the Punjab Assembly and is the wife of Muhammad Khan Bhatti. She has a close contest with politicians who have the seat multiple times.

Shandana Gulzar Khan

In the 2018 elections, Shandana was elected to the National Assembly by the PTI on reserved seats. She was notified as parliamentary secretary for the Federal Ministry of Commerce in September 2018. In September 2019, Shandana was elected chairperson of Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association for three years.

Imaan Tahir Sadiq

She is contesting from NA-50 Attock against PMLN’s Malik Sohail Kamrial and TLP’s Hafiz Saad Rizvi. In the 2018 elections, Major Tahir Sadiq left the seat vacant since he had won from two different seats. In the bypolls, the PMLN’s Malik Sohail Kamrial won the seat.