British Pakistani female campaigner appointed to the House of Lords

LONDON: A leading British Pakistani women’s rights campaigner has been appointed to the House of Lords as a non-party political peer by the prime minister and the Queen.

Shaista Gohir welcomed her appointment as a Broness to the House of Lords and described it as a “huge honour”. Shaista Gohir’s parents are originally from Daultalla, Tehsil Gujarkhan in District Rawalpindi.

They moved to England in the early 1960s. She told The News that she will be using the platform of her NGO Nisa Global Foundation, which she established last year, to help women and girls in developing countries, including Pakistan.

She said: “I plan to work with women in Pakistan and look forward to working with other NGOs in Pakistan and elsewhere. Women in South Asia have so much potential. My mother is my biggest inspiration and I would not be where I am today without her help. She encouraged us and devoted herself to our education and learning.

Her likely title will be the Baroness of Hall Green, reflecting her close connection to the area of Birmingham. Hall green is where she has lived for the last 20 years and where her charity Muslim Women’s Network UK is based.

Baroness Shaista Gohir said: “It is a huge honour to have been invited to join such a prestigious institution and be at the heart of law making. I did not think someone like me would ever be given such an opportunity.

I see this role as an extension of my activism and will use my voice to fly the flag for women’s rights, inequalities experienced by the most vulnerable in society, the charity sector, women’s health, the NHS and of course for the West Midlands region.

I look forward to working independently with peers across the House, sharing my expertise and providing scrutiny of government policy and legislation.”Shaista Gohir, who is a mother to three children, told this correspondent that her activism began in 2004 when she started working for rights of Muslim women from her bedroom. She worked hard to make her charity successful and started getting funding from the charitable foundations.