Educated, qualified women enter NA, thanks to PML-N

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N has chosen well-qualified and highly educated females for nine additional reserved women seats that it got in the National Assembly., writes Tariq Butt.
Begum Tehmina Daultana, who was defeated in the May elections from her traditional constituency of NA-169 Vehari by independent candidate Tahir Iqbal, has made it to the National Assembly from a special seat.
By selecting her, the PML-N has honoured her for her unwavering dedication and commitment to it for decades. She had always been a very aggressive member of the National Assembly. She secured 72,956 votes while the winner got 89,673 ballots. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) contestant bagged 27,226 votes.
Mrs Zahra Wadood, wife of former ambassador Tariq Fatemi, who advises Nawaz Sharif on foreign affairs and often flanks him during his meetings with foreign dignitaries, has also been accommodated. She is a known social worker and is currently chairperson of an NGO, which is engaged in a comprehensive integrated programme. She is running a school health center and a vocational centre for children.
Dr Asma Mamdot, daughter of late Nawabzada Zulfiqar Ali Mamdot and Begum Afifa Mamdot, has also been elected on the special seat by the PML-N. Her paternal grandfather Nawab Sir Shahnawaz Khan Mamdot was President of the Muslim League Punjab in 1938 and also chaired the historical political gathering of March 23, 1940 at Minto Park Lahore. Her paternal uncle Nawab Iftikhar Husain Mamdot was the first chief minister of Punjab after the creation of Pakistan. Later he was appointed as the Sindh Governor.
Amra Khan has post-Master’s Diploma in Clinical Psychology and MSc in Applied Psychology and possesses a wide experience in her field in and out of Pakistan. Maryam Aurangzeb holds MSc degree in environment and development from King’s College London, London University and Master’s degree in Economics from Pakistan. She specializes in strategic thinking and planning and development for environmental conservation, development and international agreements and Millennium Development Goals implementation.
At present, she is working as senior manager, corporate relations and communication and fund-raising at WWF-Pakistan. She has a comprehensive experience in her field.
Christian Phyllis Azeem, wife of Dr Nelson Azeem has done masters in political science. She is a nursing specialist and is principal of School of Nursing and Midwifery, Christian Hospital, Sialkot.
Sabiha Nazir has done masters in social work. Shaza Fatima Khawaja has done masters in international relations. She taught at LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences) from 2006 to 2010.
Before the May 11 elections, like other contesting political parties the PML-N provided to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) the names of its 23 representatives for the reserved women seats, who were to be automatically elected if it got so many seats in the National Assembly.
However, as the results were announced and the PML-N bagged more than what it had predicted in addition to the joining of a large battalion of independent winners, the number of its nominees fell short of what it was to get, given its final numerical strength. Therefore, it handed over to the ECP additional names and secured nine more special seats. A PML-N source said that an intense scanning was carried out before picking up these names. He said that educational qualification of the aspirants was particularly taken into consideration.