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The Heir Apparent Rises: How Maryam Nawaz became the first woman CM of a Pakistan province
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  • The Heir Apparent Rises: How Maryam Nawaz became the first woman CM of a Pakistan province

The Heir Apparent Rises: How Maryam Nawaz became the first woman CM of a Pakistan province

FP Explainers • February 26, 2024, 21:28:29 IST
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Maryam Nawaz, 50, has been elected the first woman chief minister of Punjab province — the post previously held by her father Nawaz and uncle Shehbaz which has long been a stepping stone to the prime minister’s office. Experts say that Maryam’s rise may not be a win for women empowerment, but it certainly is a landmark event in the country’s history

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The Heir Apparent Rises: How Maryam Nawaz became the first woman CM of a Pakistan province
Maryam Nawaz, 50, is her,father's political heir. She received 220 votes in the 371-seat provincial Assembly of the country's most populous province and the home base of the powerful Sharif family. Reuters

Maryam Nawaz has made history.

The daughter of Nawaz Sharif has been elected as chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province – first woman to hold this position.

The 50-year-old, who is her father’s political heir, got 220 votes in the 371-seat provincial Assembly of the country’s most populous province and the home base of the powerful Sharif family.

Let’s examine the rise of Maryam:

Early years

Maryam was born on 28 October, 1973 in Lahore.

According to Al Jazeera, Maryam is the oldest of four siblings.

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While she studied medicine, she did not complete her degree.

According to Dawn, Maryam was embroiled in controversy when she enrolled into a medical college and then transferred to the prestigious King Edward Medical College in Lahore.

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She later did a Masters in English Literature from Punjab University.

Maryam married Safdar Awan, an army officer who was serving as a personal secretary to his father in his second term as prime minister in 1992.

According to the Dawn newspaper, Awan worked as a personal secretary to Nawaz at a time when Maryam was ‘barely out of her teens.’

They have a son, two daughters and a grand-daughter.

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Diving into politics

Maryam dove into politics only in 2013 when her father Nawaz was prime minister, according to the outlet.

According to Hindustan Times, Maryam was elected president of the PML-N that year.

Maryam played a key role in establishing her party’s social media wing to combat Imran’s digital presence.

She also headed the youth affairs programme for her father.

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However, she resigned from the post in 2014 after her appointment was challenged in the Lahore High Court, according to Hindustan TImes.

According to Al Jazeera, Maryam assumed an even bigger role in the PML-N in 2017 after her father was disqualified for lying about his assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Known for her fiery speeches and pulling large crowds, Maryam Nawaz has not held a prominent public office. Reuters

However, Maryam was herself disqualified from contesting polls after being convicted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, alongside her father and husband, for corruption in the Panama Papers scandal.

According to Hindustan Times, the court ruled that Maryam was involved in money laundering.

However, Maryam has continued to insist upon her innocence.

Maryam and Nawaz both served jail time before their convictions were overturned.

Maryam made it to the BBC’s top 100 most powerful women list in 2017.

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She was also featured on a similar New York Times’ list.

After her father left for London in late 2019 for medical treatment, she led a countrywide campaign to take on Imran’s government, the country’s powerful military and the judiciary, who she blamed for targeting her party and family.

According to The Times of India, Maryam is an exceedingly wealthy woman.

Ahead of the February polls, Maryam she declared that she owned land worth over Rs 84 crore in her election affidavit.

Maryam also said she has gold worth Rs 17.5 and Rs 1 crore in several bank accounts and cash.

In January, Maryam was elected senior vice-president of the PML-N and given the mandate to ‘reorganise the party at all levels,’ according to the Dawn newspaper.

Elected amid boycott

Maryam’s election was boycotted by the Opposition Sunni Ittehad Council party backed by former prime minister Imran Khan.

Imran and his allies have claimed that the recently concluded national polls were rigged – which the country’s poll body has denied.

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She secured 220 votes in the 371-seat provincial assembly, the Punjab assembly speaker said has he announced the results of the election that was boycotted by the Opposition Sunni Ittehad Council party backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

Imran and his allies allege that the 8 February national elections were rigged against them - an allegation denied by the country’s election commission.

“I am disappointed the Opposition is not here to be part of this democratic process,” Maryam said in her address to the house after winning the election, adding that her doors were open to talks with the Opposition.

While she is known for her fiery speeches and pulling large crowds, but has not held a prominent public office before.

The 2024 general election was the first time she contested the polls, and she represented her father’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

She has faced deep criticism from opponents, including Imran, of dynastic politics in Pakistan.

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But has also been targeted for being a woman leader in the socially conservative Muslim nation.

“A woman with a mind of her own who does not conform to your ideas, who is good-looking, stylish and knows it; is that the problem?” said political commentator Marvi Sirmad, referring to the critical comments against her.

What do experts say?

The political significance of the move cannot be underlined. It underscores the Sharif family’s tightening hold on Pakistan. The post has also long been a stepping stone to becoming the country’s prime minister.

Maryam is the fourth member of her family to become the chief minister of Punjab, which accounts for 53 per cent of Pakistan’s 241 million population and 60 percent of its $350 billion GDP.

Her father Nawaz and his younger brother, Shehbaz have also been chief ministers of Punjab.

Shehbaz’s son held the post for a few months last year.

nawaz sharif and shehbaz sharif
Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif have both served as chief ministers of Punjab province. Reuters

Shehbaz is likely to be elected Pakistan’s prime minister for a second time when the parliament meets later this week.

Experts say that despite her famous surname – and perhaps even because of it – Maryam faces an uphill battle.

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Nida Kirmani, associate professor of sociology at Lahore University of Management Science, told Al Jazeera while the development “may not necessarily be a victory for women’s empowerment, it is certainly a landmark event” in Pakistan politics

“One hopes that she will use her position to further the cause of gender equality in her province and set an example for the rest of the country to follow,” Kirmani added.

Pakistan, of course, already has one high-profile example of a woman politician – Benazir Bhutto.

Bhutto, who served as Pakistan prime minister twice, was also the daughter of former president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Bhutto was the first female prime minister of a Muslim-majority nation.

“It is a reality that many women who occupy powerful positions do so partially because of their family backgrounds. Changing this would require a change in the structure of the political system and the structure of patriarchy itself,” she said.

“Like other women in powerful positions, Maryam will have to work twice as hard to prove herself as a worthy political leader in her own right.”

Scholar and gender rights activist Afiya Shehrbano Zia added, “If [her] office shows a compassionate but strong female face, much can be achieved and she will gain legitimacy. But it cannot be performative. She must carve out her own identity which will require angering and crossing the old Punjabi men and holding her own.”

Zaigham Khan wrote for Prism in October 2023 that Maryam’s “inconsistent style of political activism, characterised by alternating periods of high activity followed by prolonged absences, made it challenging for her to maintain a consistent political persona. This approach seemed to have been employed ostensibly to provide Shehbaz with an opportunity to negotiate with the establishment.”

‘No desire for revenge’

Indian Express quoted Maryam as saying that her win was the “victory of every woman, every mother, every sister.”

“Today, this victory is not just mine. It is the victory of every woman, every mother…and I hope I am not the last. This victory for women should continue even after me,” Maryam said.

Maryam added that she has no desire for revenge against her political rivals.

She said she had seen hard times like imprisonment but was thankful to her opponents for making her strong.

“I neither have a feeling of revenge or vengeance and my journey includes my arrest, my father’s arrest, my mother’s passing away,” she said, indirectly referring to former Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and former Supreme Court chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar.

She thanked the Opposition for making her go through all the ordeal which helped her reach the province’s top office, referring to the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, whose government incarcerated the Sharif family in corruption cases.

“On this occasion, I thank my late mother (Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif) too as she knowingly and unknowingly trained me for this day. She is still present with me, her prayers and best wishes. She taught me how to face trials,” said Maryam in her inaugural speech.

“I am thankful that you have made me occupy the seat from where a visionary leader like Nawaz started his career [and] who later made Pakistan invincible with nuclear technology,” said the newly-elected chief minister.

She said that the senior PML-N leaders including Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif were her mentors. “I consider this office as a big responsibility on my shoulders,” she added.

Maryam Nawaz won the chief ministerial elections amidst a walkout by lawmakers of Imran Khan’s party-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

Maryam received 220 votes and won the chief ministerial elections for the politically crucial Punjab province, home to 120 million people. She defeated Rana Aftab of the PTI-backed SIC, who received no votes as his party boycotted the election.

“I want to thank those who put me in difficulties, which included death cells, court visits, incarceration of my father and the death of my mother, but despite all this, I feel indebted to my adversaries. Today, where I am standing, it is all because of this struggle,” she was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Maryam, thanked God, her father, uncle Shehbaz Sharif and the lawmakers who voted for her.

She said that she was happy to sit in the seat where her father used to sit.

“My father trained me how to run the office,” Maryam said.

The vice president of PML-N said her appointment is an honour for every woman in the country and hoped that the tradition of female leadership would continue in the future as well.

Maryam outlined that her party’s key objective during her tenure would be the provision of employment, education and healthcare.

She also announced a Ramazan relief package, Nigheban, for the province.

She said it includes essentials worth Pakistani Rs 6.5 to Rs 7 million which would be distributed to the public in packages.

Maryam said she has plans to transform Punjab into an “economic hub” by creating an enabling environment for businessmen.

She said the safety of women in the province was her “first priority” and announced a dedicated helpline for them.

“Harassing any woman is Maryam Nawaz’s red line,” she affirmed.

She also lauded Gulber Circle ASP Shehr Bano for protecting the life of a teenage girl wearing a dress with Arabic calligraphy printed on it from an attack by a charged mob in Lahore yesterday, Dawn reported.

With inputs from agencies

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