Dr Saveera Parkash has received a lot of media attention as the first Hindu candidate to contest the elections on the provincial assembly’s general seat from the Buner district. Women in this conservative area, where the female literacy rate is only 18 percent, have rarely been seen in active politics. The young doctor hopes to change this.

Parkash, 25, is a doctor by profession and general secretary of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP’s) women’s wing in Buner. The PPP claims to have made history by fielding Parkash for the general seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), in an effort to make the elections inclusive.

Rubina Khalid, former senator and president of the party’s women’s wing in KP, says she met the young girl in Buner last year and found her a potential candidate for the party ticket. They first appointed her as the general secretary of the party’s women’s wing.

Khalid says, “Our leadership has always encouraged women who showed interest in contesting elections on general seats,” adding that her party introduced the Benazir Income Support Programme, the Lady Health Worker programme, while also enacting legislations for women’s empowerment and welfare. For the upcoming elections, the PPP has fielded four women candidates for the National Assembly from KP: Shazia Tamas Khan for NA-24, Noorulain for NA-16, Mehar Sultana at NA-38 and Farzana Shereen for NA-39.

Dr Saveera Parkash is breaking social barriers by contesting the upcoming elections as a Hindu candidate from a general seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Similarly, the party has fielded women for the KP provincial assembly on general seats, such as Dr Ghazala Khan in Swabi, Sajida Tabasum from Mansehra, Shaista Raza in Haripur, Aneela Shahzad from Mardan and Saveera Parkash. Parkash’s candidacy has received attention in particular because hers is an area which has seen religious parties win the elections. However, people in the district, particularly of the constituency, have enthusiastically welcomed her candidacy.

“I was not expecting such an overwhelming response after the Dawn article about me was published last month,” says Parkash. She is referring to the piece published on December 25, 2023, which received a lot of attention in India and Pakistan, where she was called on TV shows to talk about her candidacy.

“I represented Buner [and] that article brought a positive change in Buner,” she explains, adding how she is proud to be the first female candidate from the area to be in the media limelight. She believes women of her constituency are more excited and hopeful because she speaks directly to them and is assuring them their rights will be secured if she wins.

Parkash’s parents both work in the medical field — her father is a Hindu and her mother is a Russian Christian. Parkash says she grew up believing in all faiths and speaking multiple languages. She says she’s always received respect from the Muslim majority community in Buner, which is why she believes she has their support. She believes her joining active politics has motivated Muslim women in Buner to help her with her campaign.

Parkash admits she was initially nervous about contesting the elections, and was worried that it may be seen as violating traditional norms in the area. However, seeing the positive response from a largely patriarchal society gave her hope. She also received praise for her first public address on December 27, 2023 — Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary. She credits Bhutto as her role model and is also inspired by the PPP’s female leaders.

Parkash says, “I belong to the middle class and am from a minority group, but the people of Buner from the different dominant tribes call me Buner ki beti [daughter of Buner]. I even received support from rival political parties and I witnessed a great unity from the public, including from religious parties. A member from the Jamaat-i-Islami paid for the expenditure of my banners and told the printing press owner that all my costs would be paid for by him.”

Parkash also wants to be seen as an ambassador for religious minorities, saying, “I’ll be their voice at international forums, and I want equitable representation for them through the PPP manifesto.” Her father, Dr Om Parkash, who has been associated with the PPP for 37 years as a local leader, says the PPP has shown its commitment to giving opportunities to people at the grassroots level.

He says, “My daughter was learning from and watching my steps in politics and, today she has joined politics. I believe in her struggle and bravery. We motivated her and believed in her dream, but she made it happen.”

Parkash’s classmate, Dr Roshan, remembers how their house job at a periphery hospital in Havelian, Abbottabad impacted the doctor-turned-politician. There were no major operating facilities, a shortage of equipment and every seriously ill patient was referred to other city hospitals. It was then that Parkash began to talk about wanting to change this system and doing something for the betterment of the poor.

Following the Election Act of 2017, there has been a major focus on increasing women’s political participation and the representation of marginalised groups, including persons with disabilities, transgender citizens and religious minorities. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 7.66 percent of the country’s population belongs to a religious minority, and 1.91 percent of that is spread across KP.

Fazal Aziz Buneri, a journalist from Buner, says the time has come to give space to women and provide equal opportunities to them in political and leadership roles. “Like Dr Saveera Parkash, there are many esteemed political activists who can deliver something better than their male counterparts. We hope Dr Saveera wins and works for the minority groups as well as the Muslim majority.”

The writer is a journalist and writes about North Pakistan. X: @umar_shangla

Published in Dawn, EOS, January 14th, 2024