Creating a milestone, Pakistan has witnessed the oath-taking of the lawmakers in the nations’ 3rd uninterrupted and completed reign.
But what is more interesting is the fact that the Parliament has welcomed an African descent lawmaker into their midst.
Meet Tanzeela Qambrani, a 39-year-old Sheedi woman, who has become Pakistan’s first-ever lawmaker from African descent to be the part of Sindh Assembly.
The first Afro-Pakistani lawmaker took oath as an MPA on Monday on a seat reserved for women.
Qambrani, who is a beacon of hope for Pakistan’s little known and marginalized Sidi community, mostly living in Markan and Karachi, aims to tackle stigma attached to her community.
The newly appointed MPA was nominated by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for a women’s reserved seat in the Sindh Assembly. PPP is also acclaimed for electing a Dalit Hindu woman, Krishna Kumari, in Parliament with the help of majority Muslim votes in water-scarce Thar region.
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Qambrani, whose ancestors belonged to Tanzania, is a postgraduate in Computer Science from the University of Sindh. She is a mother of three and has had political office experience as she has served as a local councilor.
Her father, Abdul Bari, was a lawyer while her mother is a retired school teacher.
African-Pakistanis or the Sidi also referred to as Siddi, Sheedi or Habashi, are direct descendants of the Bantu people in the African great lakes region and have long been sidelined due to their ethnic background.
Many Sidis are believed to be descended from slaves brought to India from East Africa by the Portuguese. Historians say their ancestors were also soldiers, traders, pearl divers and Muslim pilgrims.
They enjoyed senior positions during the Mughal empire but faced discrimination under British colonial rule.
Estimates put their population in Pakistan in the tens of thousands. They are well-integrated but keep alive some traditions, including an annual festival that blends Islamic mysticism, crocodiles and singing in a blend of Swahili and a local language called Baluchi.
Sidi communities also live in the Indian states of Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
The PPP came third in the recent general election, which was won by former cricketer Imran Khan’s PTI party. However, the PPP again won the most seats in the Sindh provincial assembly.
A total 164 of 168 MPAs were sworn-in in the Sindh Assembly on Monday. The oath-taking took place in three languages in the Sindh Assembly i.e. Urdu, Sindhi, and English.
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