Tanzeela Qambrani, a 39-year old Pakistani of the Sidi minority group of African descent, has been nominated to a seat reserved for women in a regional parliament in southern Sindh. Qambrani was nominated by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)—party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s first female prime minister.
Tanzeela Qambrani
The marked the first time ever in the history Pakistan, that a Sidis—a minority group of Pakistanis and Indians of African origin—will be represented in Pakistan’s legislature.
The Sidis are believed to have first been brought to India and Pakistan by Arab and Portuguese slavers but despite living in both countries for centuries, Sidis are still often derided in local communities for their physical features and have faced racial discrimination in both countries. Bombarded with perpetuual prejudice, Sidis have struggled to preserve their African roots and cultural links. Indeed, the exact African origins of many Sidis have been lost over the years although Qambrani says her great-grandparents were brought to Pakistan from Tanzania around a century ago.
On her part, Qambrani hopes her nomination as a lawmaker will bring the attract more respect and reduce the stigma they have faced. “I look forward to the day when the name Sidi will evoke respect, not contempt,” she told the BBC. Her nomination is the latest twist from Pakistan’s July 25 elections as cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan is set to become the new prime minister. It will become only the second time in Pakistan’s 71-year history that a democratically elected government will transfer power to another after completing its full term.
Tanzeela Qambrani — first Sindhi Sheedi woman to become MPAhttps://t.co/3Q3xLASPOT pic.twitter.com/HLS9KBUNFi
— Geo English (@geonews_english) August 13, 2018
