Tanzeela Qambrani — first Sindhi Sheedi woman to become MPA

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Tanzeela Qambrani became Pakistan’s first-ever Sindh Sheedi woman to be part of the provincial legislature as she took oath as member of Sindh Assembly on Monday.

The 39-year-old was nominated by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) to a women's reserved seat in the Sindh Assembly.

Tanzeela Qambrani arriving at the Sindh Assembly 

Tanzeela, whose ancestors came to Sindh from Tanzania, is a postgraduate in Computer Science from the University of Sindh.

The mother of three hails from the coastal area of Badin and already has experience of political office having been a local councilor.

Her father, Abdul Bari, was a lawyer while her mother is a retired school teacher.

Tanzeela’s family has kept its African connections alive as one of her sisters was married in Tanzania, while another has a husband from Ghana.

The 39-year-old endured discrimination over the years owing to her African descent but hopes to wash away the stigma attached to the Sheedi community with her nomination to the provincial assembly.

During an earlier interview with BBC, she said, “As a tiny minority lost in the midst of local populations, we have struggled to preserve our African roots and cultural expression, but I look forward to the day when the name Sheedi will evoke respect, not contempt.”

A total 164 of 168 MPAs were sworn-in in the Sindh Assembly on Monday. 

The newly elected MPAs were administered oath by Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, following which they signed the register roll in alphabetical order.

The oath-taking took place in three languages in the Sindh Assembly i.e. Urdu, Sindhi and English.