Marvi Rashdi – family’s first female graduate becomes MPA

With record number of female politicians bagging seats in the National and Provincial Assemblies in elections 2018, a new beacon of hope has gained momentum that has   catapulted  women  to the top like never before. 

Possessing unbelievable grit, passion and perseverance, these female politicians have a unique story behind their distinct political journeys. 

One such remarkable female politician is Syeda Marvi Rashdi, who belonging to the respectable Rashdi tribe in Nawabshah, is her family’s first female graduate. 

Marvi, who has returned to the Sindh Assembly on the quota of reserved seats of women on Pakistan People’s Party ticket (PPP), is a graduate in Law, who has had politics in her roots from the start.

Beginning her political journey with affiliation with Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) in 2008, Marvi joined politics at the tender age of 25, when she got elected as Member of the Provincial Assembly for the first time in 2008.

She used to raise significant issues back then too. However, she says her true calling lied with PPP.

“I had to complete my family for which I went on a five-year-long hiatus in 2013. When I finally decided to resume my political responsibilities in 2018, I opted for PPP as it believes in empowering women and has always brought them to the forefront,” Marvi said while talking to The News.

Juggling between her private and her professional life brilliantly, Marvi believes women have the potential to strike a balance between both the arenas of life and despite having added responsibilities on their shoulders; women can manage their work and family life better than men.

“I believe women have an inherent ability to multi-task. They can out-perform men in fulfilling multiple duties simultaneously with bettered outcomes. According to me our society has produced amazing women time and again, who manage their professions, rear children and run families, all to utmost perfection,” she shared.

Furthermore, Marvi plans on resolving the issues of the people with her ascension to the provincial assembly seat today (Monday).

“My main focus lies in working towards the health and education sector, as well as providing relief to the lower classes by alleviating their problems. As far as women are concerned, I don’t believe they are any less than men. Where we think women are being oppressed or marginalised, we vow to work for their rights through proper legislation,” Marvi asserted.

She believes that the overall society is nonetheless gender-biased - an impediment that needs to be tackled on immediate basis by the enforcement of law.

Marvi credits her and other women’s achievements to PPP, who she says has always acted as the torch-bearer of women empowerment and liberation, especially in politics.

“Benazir Bhutto was the first female Prime Minister of the Muslim world, and she belonged to People’s Party. Shehla Raza, who was the first female deputy speaker of the Sindh assembly, is from PPP too. When you see the first Thari woman (Krishna Kohli) and first Sheedi woman (Tanzeela Qambrani) in the Senate and provincial assembly respectively, both coming to power on PPP ticket, you feel a sense of joy and achievement that my party has always believed in furthering,” she stated.

With an aim to represent the 52% female population, Marvi believes female inclusion in all avenues of society is highly imperative and just like any other profession it is vital in politics too.