Pioneering Women of Pakistan: Champions of Rights, Equality, And Progress-XVII

By Muhammad Imran, Staff Member, SAHSOL-LUMS Maria Batool, SAHSOL Graduate-2025 Asma Rahmat, Final Year Law Student, SLC

The passage highlights the significance of International Women’s Day (March 8) as a time to recognize women’s achievements, struggles, and resilience globally, with special emphasis on Pakistan. It stresses that the day is not just symbolic but a moment to reflect on progress, acknowledge ongoing challenges to gender equality, and renew commitment to justice and equal opportunity. It also honors influential Pakistani women such as Dr. Shazia Anjum, Dr. Rabia Akhtar, Senator Krishna Kumari, Tanzeela Qambrani, and Ms. Azma Bukhari, who played key roles in shaping the country’s social and political landscape and advocating for democracy, human rights, and women’s empowerment.

Finally, the text emphasizes that despite facing social, political, and institutional challenges, these women persisted with determination. Their legacy underscores that Pakistan’s progress depends on women’s active participation, and their courage continues to inspire the ongoing fight for equality and an inclusive society.

Prof. Dr. Shazia Anjum:

Prof. Dr. Shazia Anjum is a distinguished Pakistani academic, research scientist, and higher education leader, currently serving as Vice Chancellor of Government Sadiq College Women University, Bahawalpur, since 2024. She is also Patron-in-Chief of the Consortium on Climate Change, Sustainability and Conservation, an initiative she established to promote collaboration among universities, research institutions, NGOs, and national and international organisations.

She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Karachi (2000) and an MSc in Chemistry from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan (1993). Her professional career encompasses academic leadership, scientific research, and institutional management, with international experience in Pakistan, Canada, and Spain. Previously, she served as Dean of the Faculty of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Director of the Culture and Heritage Research Centre, Professor at the Institute of Chemistry, and Director/Professor of the Cholistan Institute of Desert Studies at The Islamia University of Bahawalpur. Her international experience includes research appointments at the University of Saskatchewan and Medicure Inc., Canada, and postdoctoral research in Spain.

Prof. Dr. Anjum has made significant contributions to scientific research, institutional development, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her research achievements include 144 publications, 16 edited books, four book chapters, two patents, and seven research projects. She has also contributed to cultural heritage preservation, sustainability initiatives, and university development.

Her prestigious honours include the Izaz-e-Kamal Presidential Award (2006), the Third World Academy of Sciences Young Chemist Award (2005), the Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah Medal (2005), the 13th Cholistan Award (2011), and Fellowship of the Islamic World Academy of Sciences (2017). In 2022, she was selected for a women’s leadership training programme associated with Michigan State University and Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission.

With extensive experience in higher education administration, scientific scholarship, research leadership, and sustainability, Prof. Dr. Shazia Anjum is a prominent contributor to Pakistan’s academic and scientific landscape.

Prof. Dr. Rabia Akhtar:

Dr. Rabia Akhtar has an outstanding record of academic excellence, international research engagement, and award-winning scholarship. She is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Managing the Atom Program, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University (September 2026–June 2027), having previously served as a Non-Resident Associate (2025–2026) and Visiting Research Scholar (2024–2025). Her earlier fellowships include Cornell University’s Judith Reppy Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (2017) and the Henry L. Stimson Center (2014).

Her publications have earned multiple Best Book and Research Awards from the University of Lahore, including Strategic Reckoning: Perspectives on Deterrence and Escalation Post-Pahalgam (2026), China–Pakistan Economic Corridor Beyond 2030: A Green Alliance for Sustainable Development (2024), and The Blind Eye: U.S. Non-Proliferation Policy Towards Pakistan from Ford to Clinton (2019).

Dr. Akhtar has demonstrated research leadership in nuclear policy, strategic stability, emerging technologies, and crisis management in South Asia through competitive grants from BASIC International Organisation and the CSSPR–Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2022–2025). Her other distinctions include research awards from Kansas State University, the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.

She received a five-year Fulbright PhD Scholarship (2010–2015) to pursue doctoral studies in Security Studies at Kansas State University, United States. Collectively, her achievements reflect significant contributions to nuclear deterrence, non-proliferation, crisis prevention, geoeconomics, and sustainable development, establishing her as an internationally engaged, policy-oriented scholar.

Senator Krishna Kumari Kohli:

Krishna Kumari Kohli, popularly known as Kishoo Bai, is a Pakistani politician and social activist renowned for advocating women’s rights, minority protection, and the abolition of bonded labour. She served in the Senate of Pakistan from March 2018 to March 2024, becoming the second Hindu woman to hold this position. In 2018, the BBC recognised her among its 100 Most Influential Women.

Born into a disadvantaged Koli family in Nagarparkar, Sindh, Kohli experienced severe hardship during childhood. While in the third grade, she and her family were reportedly held for nearly three years as bonded labourers before being released following a police raid. Despite these challenges, she continued her education and earned a master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Sindh in 2013, having married at the age of 16.

Her commitment to human rights strengthened through leadership training at the Mehergarh Human Rights Youth Leadership Training Camp in 2007. Subsequently, she joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and campaigned for disadvantaged communities in Thar, focusing on women’s empowerment, bonded labour, and workplace harassment. Elected to the Senate in 2018 on a reserved seat for women from Sindh, she presided over the Senate for one day on International Women’s Day in 2019. She also protested against the rejection of a proposed bill protecting religious minorities following the 2020 attack on a Hindu temple in Karak, advocating stronger safeguards for minority communities.

Kohli’s journey from childhood exploitation to parliamentary service exemplifies perseverance, educational achievement, and dedication to social justice. Her activism has highlighted caste discrimination, gender inequality, economic exploitation, and minority exclusion, advancing the cause of democratic inclusion and the protection of vulnerable communities in Pakistan.

Tanzeela Qambrani:

Tanzeela Qambrani is a Pakistani politician who served in the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from August 2018 to August 2023. As the first woman from the Sheedi community of African descent to enter the Sindh Assembly, she achieved a historic milestone in Pakistan’s parliamentary representation. Elected on a reserved seat for women as a Pakistan Peoples Party candidate in 2018, her political journey underscored the importance of inclusive governance and equitable participation in democratic institutions.

Holding a postgraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Sindh, Qambrani has brought visibility to a historically underrepresented community. Her public profile highlights the significance of women’s political participation, minority representation, and equal citizenship in addressing entrenched social barriers. Her election remains a notable milestone in advancing the inclusion of marginalised communities in Pakistan’s political landscape.

Azma Bukhari:

Azma Zahid Bukhari, born on 18 August 1976, is a Pakistani politician and practising lawyer who serves as the Provincial Minister for Information and Culture in Punjab. She has an extensive parliamentary career, having been elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab on reserved seats for women in successive general elections since 2002. Her political trajectory reflects sustained engagement in provincial politics and public affairs.

Born in Faisalabad, Bukhari received her early education in Sheikhupura and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Punjab. She subsequently obtained her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Pakistan College of Law in 2001 and practises law at the Lahore High Court. She is the daughter of Syed Zahid Hussain Bukhari, a former Lahore High Court judge and prominent lawyer who represented Raymond Davis in the 2011 Lahore shooting case. Bukhari began her parliamentary career with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), winning a reserved seat for women in the 2002 general elections and securing re-election in 2008. In February 2013, she joined the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) and was subsequently re-elected to the Punjab Assembly in 2013, 2018, and 2024. Her continued presence in provincial politics demonstrates sustained participation in legislative and political affairs.

As Provincial Minister for Information and Culture, Bukhari occupies a prominent position in Punjab’s public communications and cultural administration. Her career also illustrates the role of reserved seats in facilitating women’s representation in legislative institutions and expanding their participation in Pakistan’s political and public life.

Conclusion: These distinguished women exemplify the transformative role of female leadership in Pakistan’s academic, scientific, political, and social spheres. Through their achievements in higher education, strategic research, parliamentary service, and human rights advocacy, they have advanced women’s empowerment, minority representation, gender equality, and inclusive governance. Their contributions demonstrate how women’s intellectual excellence, professional leadership, and public engagement can challenge structural barriers, strengthen democratic institutions, and promote a more equitable and inclusive society.