ISLAMABAD: Over twenty women candidates across the country’s national and provincial constituencies emerged victorious after the results of last week’s general elections, in conservative Pakistan where women often face difficulties in accessing health and education facilities.
Hundreds of women candidates contested elections across Pakistan on Feb. 8. Pakistan’s constitution reserves seats for women in the provincial and national assemblies but parties rarely allow women to contest outside that quota.
Showing resilience in a conservative country where many women are barred from voting by the male members of their family, these 27 women pushed for change and emerged victorious after polling thousands of votes.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
Maryam Nawaz is the political scion of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, supremo of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and three-time prime minister. She won the National Assembly seat from NA-119 Lahore and a provincial PP-159 seat.
Shazia Marri – Pakistan Peoples Party
Shazia Marri is a former federal minister and won the NA-209 Sanghar seat for the third time in the 2024 general elections.
Zartaj Gul Wazir– Independent Candidate
Former minister for climate change bagged NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan seat in Feb. 8 general elections.
Faryal Talpur – Pakistan Peoples Party
Faryal Talpur is the sister of former president Asif Ali Zardari and won a provincial seat from PS-10 Larkana.
Shandana Gulzar Khan – Independent Candidate
Shandana Gulzar Khan won the NA-30 Peshawar seat, becoming the first female to be elected on a general seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She has served as deputy minister and parliamentary secretary in Pakistan's commerce ministry.
Nafisa Shah – Pakistan Peoples Party
Shah won the NA-202 Khairpur seat in the Feb. 8 elections. Pakistani lawmaker Nafisa Shah is the daughter of Qaim Ali Shah who has served as a federal minister, a senator, and thrice the chief minister of Sindh.
Shezra Mansab Kharal – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
Shezra Mansab Kharal is a winning candidate from NA-112 Nankana Sahib and is the daughter of Pakistani politician Rai Mansab Ali Khan.
Ayesha Nazir Jatt – Independent Candidate
Jatt is another Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed candidate who won from NA-156 Vehari.
Tehmina Dultana – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
Clinching NA-158 Vehari's seat in the Feb. 8 polls, Daultana became a member of the Pakistani parliament; for the first time in 1993.
Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
Iftikhar won the NA-78 Lahore seat on a PML-N ticket. Her husband and father have both served as Pakistani lawmakers
Aasia Ishaque Siddiqui – Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan
Siddiqui emerged victorious from NA-232 Karachi.
Suraya Bibi – Independent Candidate
PTI-backed Suraya Bibi won PK 1 Chitral – Upper.
Makhdoma Syeda Sonia Ali Raza Shah – Independent Candidate
Shah has clinched a provincial seat second time after emerging victorious from PP-123 Toba Tek Singh. She served as Parliamentary Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and Archaeology from 2018-2023.
Ashifa Riaz Fatyana – Independent Candidate
Riaz is a seasoned politician and agriculturist. She served as a member of the Punjab Assembly from 2002 to 2007 and in 2018 held the portfolio of Minister for Women Development & Human Rights. Her father, Mian Mohammad Afzal Wattoo, was a prominent politician, and her husband, Mohammad Riaz Khan Fatyana, won a seat in NA-123 seat. Continuing her family's legacy, Riaz won the PP-123 seat from Toba Tek Singh.
Azra Fazal Pechuho – Pakistan Peoples Party
Pechuho, a winner from PP-36 Shaheed Benazirabad, has served as a health minister in Sindh during her last stint in the Sindh Assembly.
