KARACHI: The first ever Sindh Sheedi woman Tanzeela Qambrani on Monday became part of the provincial legislature as she took oath as a member of Sindh Assembly.
She was nominated by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to a reserved seat for women in the Sindh Assembly.
The 39-year-old whose ancestors came to Sindh from Tanzania is a postgraduate in Computer Science from the University of Sindh.
The mother of three hails from the coastal area of Badin and already has experience of political office as a local councillor.
Her father, Abdul Bari, was a lawyer while her mother is a retired school teacher.
Tanzeela’s family has kept its African connections alive as one of her sisters was married in Tanzania, while another has a husband from Ghana.
During an earlier interview with BBC, she said, “As a tiny minority lost in the midst of local populations, we have struggled to preserve our African roots and cultural expression, but I look forward to the day when the name Sheedi will evoke respect, not contempt.”
Earlier on Monday, the inaugural session of 15th National Assembly began at 10 am at the Parliament House in Islamabad where newly elected members of the house were sworn in by the speaker.
The first sessions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh and Balochistan provincial assemblies were also be conveyed on Monday, while Punjab Assembly session is slated for August 15.
During the inaugural sessions of the new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh assemblies, MPA-elects took an oath of their offices.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Aurangzeb Nalota presided over the oath-taking ceremony in KP Assembly. He was appointed by KP Governor to fill in for outgoing speaker Asad Qaiser, who was sworn in as MNA earlier on Monday.
In the Sindh Assembly, speaker Agha Siraj administered the oath to the newly elected MPAs.