First-ever Hindu woman elected Senator in Pakistan

A woman from Pakistan’s marginalized Hindu minority was elected to the Senate for the first time ever in an election held on Saturday in which a Taliban-linked cleric Maulana Sami ul Haq backed by the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's PTI faced defeat.

The Hindu woman Krishna Kumari, a member of the Pakistan People’s Party, hails from Thar's so-called untouchables, the lowest rung of the caste system that still prevails in Pakistan and neighboring India.

Lawmakers in national and four provincial assemblies elected half of the 104-member Senate to six-year terms.

Pakistan Today quoted Kumari as saying, "I feel delighted, this was unthinkable for me to reach the Senate,”.

Kumari, who was born and raised in a remote district, attributed her success to her parents, who encouraged her to pursue her education and eventually helped her earn a university degree. 

She later worked for a non-governmental organization before joining the Pakistan People’s Party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The party nominated her for a seat reserved for minority candidates from the Sindh province, where it holds the majority.

“I will continue to work for the rights of the oppressed people, especially for the empowerment of women, their health and education,” she said.

Kumari, who worked in the fields alongside her parents as a child, will take the oath of office later this month alongside some of the biggest landowners in the country.