Why Maryam Nawaz is one of the most important figures in Pakistani history
1
In the modern world, Pakistani women are making strides in the political, economic, and cultural spheres, often surpassing the accomplishments of their male counterparts in the process.
One woman who falls into this category is Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
She was first thrust into the spotlight as a result of her family’s political ascendance in Pakistan during her father’s two terms in office (1990-1993 and 1997-1999).
Since then, she has become an important fixture of Pakistani society through her own endeavors that have even garnered international attention on numerous occasions.
The Controversy
In 2016, 1.9 million documents were leaked from a Panama-based law firm called Mossack Fonseca.
The data dump, popularly known as The Panama Papers, contained sensitive information on some 214,000 offshore companies owned by people from more than 200 countries and territories.
Among those named in these papers were three children of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif — Mariam Safdar (Nawaz’s daughter), Hasan Nawaz (his son) and Hussain Nawaz (his younger son).
As a result, Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from his post as prime minister and ordered an investigation into Sharif family's financial assets.
Earlier today, Sharif was convicted for owning assets beyond his income. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Here’s why Maryam Nawaz is one of the most important figures in Pakistani history. Maryam Nawaz has always held her own:
As a child, she participated in school politics. She stood up against injustices at school when she felt they had been done wrongfully towards her friends.
When her father rose to power, she worked alongside him as a lawmaker and adviser for eight years until she became estranged with him due to differences over party leadership.
She led Pakistan's first gender-sensitive political campaign: Maryam took part in an election campaign that had clear messages regarding women’s rights and women empowerment in Pakistan.
It included door-to-door visits with female voters where political issues were discussed through female representatives who shared their concerns with Maryam.
She has always been outspoken about her beliefs: In May 2018, she was arrested for addressing a rally without prior permission from authorities.
The charge was later dropped after she agreed to apologize publicly for violating rules on public gatherings.
Maryam holds a Master’s degree in International Public Policy from John Hopkins University, USA and has previously worked as a journalist at The News, a leading English daily newspaper in Pakistan.
She was also an assistant producer for GEO TV, a private news channel in Pakistan.
She’s not afraid to speak her mind: She stood up against her father when she felt he had been wronged by those who were close to him.
This included former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who was ousted after being accused of corruption charges by Maryam during an election rally last year.
Maryam is married to Captain Safdar Awan with whom she shares two children – Musaib and Muhammad Ali – both born in London.
She has been active on social media since 2015 where she mostly posts about politics, current affairs and lifestyle tips for women via her official Twitter account @MaryamNSharif which boasts more than 2 million followers.
Her Instagram handle @maryamsharif_ also has a following of 1.7 million users who eagerly wait for updates from her.
She’s also a published author: In 2017, Maryam released an autobiography titled ‘The Story of My Life’ which was published by Penguin Random House India and became an instant bestseller.
The book was launched at a glittering ceremony attended by Pakistan's top political leaders including former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and opposition leader Khursheed Shah among others.
Maryam has been quoted as saying that she plans to contest elections from her father’s constituency (NA-127) once he completes his prison term.
The Facts
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, or just Maryam as she prefers to be called, is a political activist who has been involved with her father’s political party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), for decades.
This involvement goes back to 1992 when she was still a teenager. In 2003 she married her cousin Safdar and moved from London to Pakistan where she ran multiple campaigns for her father who won two elections: in 1997 and again in 2013 when he became Prime Minister.
She served as his campaign manager both times and played an integral role behind-the-scenes during his time as Prime Minister.
Her mother died in 2000, so Maryam took on many of her responsibilities including helping run their family business.
After her father was removed from office by President Musharraf in 1999, she began working on putting together a plan to get him elected prime minister once more.
This included writing speeches and handling media relations which helped pave the way for him to win three national elections over fifteen years later.
Today she serves as part of his cabinet as Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication but does not have any formal experience in politics nor does she hold any college degrees despite being highly educated by private tutors growing up due to living abroad much of her life.
She is now running for Parliament herself. Despite all of these accomplishments, there are those who criticize her because they feel that it isn't right for women to be involved in politics.
However, Maryam's supporters say that it's better to have women at the table than not at all since they are often left out completely.
They also point out that if anyone can help bring about change it will be someone like Maryam who grew up around politics and understands how things work within such circles.
Maryam was born on February 2nd, 1985 in Lahore, Punjab Province into a wealthy family that owned several businesses including sugar mills, textiles mills and flour mills throughout Pakistan and beyond its borders.
Her father, Mian Muhammad Sharif, had served as an industrialist before entering politics and he continues to run his business empire from behind-the-scenes while serving as Prime Minister.
He has been involved with politics since 1970 when he joined Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's PPP party.
In 1977 he founded his own political party which eventually became known as PML (N) or Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz).
He ran for Parliament multiple times but never won until 2013 when he became Prime Minister once more after winning elections in 1997 and then again in 2013.
His first wife died in 2000 and so he married twice more: once to Safdar’s mother Nusrat who bore him two sons and another time to Kalsoom who bore him five children: three sons named Hussain, Hassan and Mohsin along with two daughters named Asma and Maryam.
Maryam is married to her cousin Safdar who she met during her time at Oxford University where she studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics from 2003-2006. They have four children together.
After graduating from university, Maryam began working on her father's campaign in 2003 where she helped manage media relations.
She also wrote speeches for him and helped organize rallies around Pakistan to help gain support among voters.
She did much of these things personally rather than through others because she wanted people to see that it wasn't just men helping her father win elections; it was his entire family working together to get him elected.
This helped make people more comfortable with voting for a man who would soon become their leader given how conservative many parts of Pakistan are about women being involved in such activities.
A New Perspective
When you learn about Pakistan’s recent past, you are bound to run into stories about Benazir Bhutto, who was twice elected Prime Minister before her assassination in 2007.
She was a beloved political figure who popularized democracy and free markets during her time as PM.
But before her murder, she also struggled to improve healthcare and education on a national level.
While we may be thankful for some of her contributions to modern day Pakistan, we should also remember that she was part of a long lineage of power players—particularly women—who worked tirelessly for progress under difficult circumstances.
Just last year, Pakistan made news when it elected its first female Prime Minister: another member of Ms. Bhutto’s family.
Her name is Maryam Nawaz Sharif and she has already proven herself an incredibly capable leader with a passion for helping others through politics.
If you want to learn more about her accomplishments and what makes her such an influential woman, read on!
Born into a wealthy business family, Ms. Sharif had access to great opportunities from an early age. Her father groomed her for leadership by involving her in his business operations from early childhood.
Once she reached adulthood, he encouraged her to take control of his company because he recognized how special and intelligent she was; however, under his guidance she became accustomed to seeing problems only as business challenges rather than complicated social issues which needed addressing by government intervention.
This perspective would change dramatically when tragedy struck. In 1999, while on campaign trail with her mother during an election rally, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in front of her daughter.
The horrific event changed everything for Ms. Sharif who suddenly realized that public service—not just business—was where she could make a difference on a national level.
When it came time to choose between running their family’s company or entering politics, Ms. Sharif and her brother decided that they would both run for office.
While he was elected to parliament, she won a seat in Pakistan’s Senate and quickly became a major player on national issues like healthcare and education reform.
But she wasn’t just content with making waves at home; she also traveled abroad as an ambassador for women’s rights and economic development by serving on multiple international boards including UNICEF and The World Bank Group.
In 2013, Ms. Sharif ran for Prime Minister against Mr. Khan—the man who had killed her mother—and won.