Meet Saveera Parkash—Pakistan's first Hindu woman to contest general elections
In a first-of-its-kind development in Pakistan, a Hindu woman, Dr. Saveera Parkash, has filed her nomination for a general seat in the upcoming general elections. Hailing from Buner in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, she will contest from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). The elections for Pakistan's 16th National Assembly will be held on February 8, 2024. Local politician Saleem Khan confirmed she is the first woman to run from Buner. She will contest for the PK-25 general seat.
Parkash's background, political aspirations
Parkash is a medical doctor and graduated from Abbottabad International Medical College in 2022. She is reportedly following in her father's footsteps by running on a ticket of the late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's PPP. Her father, Oam Parkash, is a retired doctor and has been an active PPP member for 35 years. Parkash currently serves as the general secretary of the PPP women's wing in Buner and is dedicated to helping the underprivileged and advocating for women's rights.
Parkash aspires to give safe space to women in Pakistan
Speaking to Dawn, Parkash said she aspires to work for underprivileged people and women, ensuring a safe space for them. She submitted her nomination papers on Friday (December 23) and expressed hope that the PPP senior leadership would endorse her candidature. Parkash emphasized that commitment to "serving humanity is in my blood." Her dream of becoming an elected legislator stems from her firsthand experiences with poor management and helplessness in government hospitals during her medical career, per reports.
Significance of Parkash's candidature
A social media influencer from Buner, Imran Noshad Khan, praised Parkash for breaking traditional patriarchal stereotypes, regardless of her political affiliation. He emphasized the significance of the move, noting it took 55 years since Buner merged with Pakistan "for a woman to step forward." The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recently mandated that 5% of general seat candidates must be women. In 2018, Krishna Kumari Kohli became the first non-Muslim woman to win a women's reserved seat in Pakistan's Senate.
Pakistan's general elections under criticism
The general elections in Pakistan are set to be held in February 2024. The top parties in the contest include PPP, Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). While the pre-election campaign of all these parties is in full swing, the PTI's intra-party elections recently came under fire for allegedly being "rigged." The opposition PTI is also in troubled waters as its leader, Khan, is still in jail and banned from contesting elections.
