‘Felt like Nelson Mandela’: Tanzeela Qambrani on taking oath as Pakistan’s first Sheedi woman MPA

The historic oath-taking ceremony held at the Sindh Assembly on Monday saw Tanzeela Qambrani ascending the seat as Pakistan’s first Sindhi Sheedi woman to become part of provincial legislature.

Tanzeela, who was nominated by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on the quota of reserved seats for women, shared how she feels about becoming a voice for her community as Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA).

Being a woman of African descent, Tanzeela revealed that she has an emotional connect with great revolutionist Mandela, probably the biggest leader that Africa has ever produced and that she herself feels like him. 

“Arriving at the oath-taking ceremony I was overwhelmed by emotions. I thought I am Nelson Mandela. As I descended the stairs of the Sindh Assembly, I felt like kissing the ground, the very ground that has blessed me with so much respect, love and acceptance,” she shared while in conversation with The News.

Talking about the surreal experience of being sworn in as provincial legislator, she said, “Now that I am an MPA I feel I am highly responsible, especially for women and my community, at large. I feel happy on this achievement, but responsible at the same time.”

Shedding light upon the issues she is passionate working for, Tanzeela stated, “My objectives are very clear. I aim to work towards furthering women empowerment. In addition to that, I want to work for the education sector as well as access to clean drinking water.”

Tanzeela, whose ancestors came to Sindh from Tanzania, believes that the apt representation of minorities in assemblies has only been done by Pakistan People’s Party.

“When I say that PPP gives the earth and the sky to its workers, I strongly believe that it is the only party that works for the representation of minorities. If you take a glance at history, you’ll notice that PPP has always brought women, minorities to the forefront and has worked for the oppressed; at times in the face of Krishna (first Hindu Dalit woman from Thar to become Senator), Surendar Valasai, or in the shape of Tanzeela,” she said.

To have minorities' representation is highly imperative, as they are an unavoidable, eminent part of the society, Tanzeela further added.

“My vision, my ideology rests in working to provide education opportunities to women as well as children who cannot afford it,” asserted the 39-year-old post-graduate in Computer Science.