Beyond Victims #2025 - Pakistan Edition
- CGAP South Asia
- Nov 6
- 4 min read
Our third edition of 2025 Beyond Victims Series brings you stories of inspiring women political leaders from Pakistan.
Dive in to read stories of Sunita Parmar, Jalila Haider, Kamla Bheel, Rabia Azfar Nizami and Badam Zari.
Sunita Parmar (General Provincial Assembly Candidate)
The first independent candidate from a Hindu community to contest a general provincial assembly seat, Sunita’s candidacy broke through religious, gender, and class barriers. She emerged from one of Pakistan’s poorest regions to champion the rights of women and marginalised communities. Her campaign, symbolised by the matka (water pot), drew attention to the daily struggles of women for essentials like water, while advocating for education, healthcare, and basic infrastructure in rural Sindh.
Standing fearlessly against entrenched feudal and caste hierarchies, Parmar challenged systems that long excluded women and minorities from political power. Though she did not win the election, her historic run redefined political participation for minority women in Pakistan, inspiring new conversations around inclusion and representation. By bringing the realities of Tharparkar’s women and the rural poor into national discourse, Sunita Parmar paved the way for future grassroots and minority leaders.
- Multiple Sources
Jalila Haider (Political Activist & First Hazara Woman Lawyer)
Jalila Haider, Pakistan’s first woman lawyer from the Hazara community, is a human rights activist from Quetta who has become a powerful voice for gender equality, minority rights, and social justice in one of the country’s most volatile regions.
She founded ‘We the Humans, Pakistan’, an organization providing legal aid, education, and psychosocial support to women and marginalized communities. In 2018, Jalila led a hunger strike demanding justice for the targeted killings of Hazaras, drawing national attention and forcing government action.
Through her work with the Women Democratic Front and Awami Workers Party, she continues to advocate for systemic reform and women’s political participation. Recognized globally, she has been honored with the BBC 100 Women (2019), the U.S. International Women of Courage Award (2020), and the Pakistan Peace Award (2022).
Haider’s work has opened civic and political space for minority women in Pakistan, blending law with grassroots advocacy to challenge violence, discrimination, and state inaction - inspiring a new generation to lead with courage and conviction.
- Multiple Sources
Kamla Bheel (First Woman District Vice Chairperson, Tharparkar)
Kamla Bheel, a pioneering politician from Tharparkar, Sindh, has emerged as a powerful voice for women and marginalized communities in local governance. Belonging to the Bheel community, she made history as the first woman to serve as District Vice Chairperson in Tharparkar’s local government, smashing deep-rooted caste and gender barriers in one of Pakistan’s most disadvantaged regions.
Using her platform to advance women’s participation in governance, Kamla has championed civic awareness, accountability, and transparency by promoting the use of right-to-information laws. She regularly shares her journey in community forums and leadership workshops, inspiring other women from marginalized groups to enter politics and claim public space.
Her leadership has transformed local expectations in a region marked by poverty, low female literacy, and rigid social divisions. By amplifying women’s voices and highlighting issues such as infrastructure, education, and social inclusion, Kamla Bheel has redefined what grassroots leadership can look like in Pakistan’s most neglected districts.
- Multiple Sources
Rabia Azfar Nizami (Former Member of Provincial Assembly, Sindh, Pakistan)
Rabia Azfar, an education reformer and child rights advocate, served as a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from 2018 to 2023 under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). With a background in engineering and technology, she brought an evidence-driven approach to governance, focusing on transforming education and social welfare in underserved regions.
In Tharparkar and other remote areas, she adopted government schools to improve infrastructure, provide essential learning materials, and ensure access to quality education for girls. As a vocal advocate for child protection, she worked to regulate orphanages, address child labor, and promote children’s welfare through stronger legislation. Rabia also stood up for patients’ rights, protesting the discontinuation of critical cancer care programs and urging health policy reforms.
Her leadership extends beyond parliament holding institutions accountable through public advocacy and promoting women’s digital inclusion across Sindh.
- Multiple Sources
Badam Zari (First Female Candidate, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan)
In 2013, Badam Zari became the first woman from FATA to file nomination papers for a National Assembly seat, breaking a deep cultural taboo in one of Pakistan’s most conservative and conflict-affected regions. An illiterate housewife from Bajaur Agency, she stood as an independent candidate to represent women who had long been excluded from political life.
Driven by a commitment to education, women’s rights, and community welfare, her campaign spotlighted the lack of schooling, health care, and infrastructure in tribal areas. Though she did not win, Zari’s candidacy transformed public discourse, inspiring other women in FATA to envision political participation as possible and urging recognition of women’s voices in governance. Her run marked a symbolic breakthrough for women in Pakistan’s tribal belt.
- Multiple Sources
Project Manager: Riya Hira
Contributors: Alessandra Ghitturi & Sunanda Natarajan
Edited by: Sugandha Parmar
Design: Riya Hira
Template: Vida Seraphina (https://vidaseraphina.dk/)
Sources:
https://theworld.org/stories/2013/08/15/pakistani-woman-badam-zari-running-parliament-making-history
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