As women’s day approaches, what better way to celebrate such a momentous occasion than to see another woman leader discuss several topics related to what she does best. Earlier, renowned politician Sharmila Faruqi appeared in an episode of Momina’s Mixed Plate and revealed a lot about her personal as well as professional life. With a dynamic host like Momina Sibtain we just knew that this interview would be everything we wanted it to be! As this was Sharmila’s first-ever non-political interview, she opened up about her life, what it means to be a liberated woman, the values her father taught her, along with some hilarious stories from the assembly and we couldn’t get enough!
The very first question Sibtain asked Sharmila Faruqi was what she believes it means to be a liberated woman to which the esteemed politician responded, “A liberated woman is someone who can make her own life choices. Whether it be about her career, marriage, or simply day-to-day living. Just to make your choices yourself, not to be influenced or be pressurized by family or peers and just being yourself.” Faruqi went on to discuss what values her father taught her and she professed that he would always tell her to completely rely on herself and no one else. Despite always having her father’s support she was raised to be independent and make her own decisions which is a quality that can be quite rare in Pakistan.
When Momina Sibtain asked Sharmila Faruqi to describe her proudest moment being part of a Bill or policy that she really stood behind, Faruqi revealed that she was a part of the Sindh Child Marriages Act 2013 which hadn’t been changed since 1929 when an underage girl could be married off without having the mental maturity of being in a marriage. She also stated that the bill was voted on unanimously. “Still today in all of Pakistan, no one else has been able to do this,” stated the political figure. This led Momina to discuss how there are a lot of laws placed in Pakistan but there’s hardly any implementation and Sharmila believes that this is because there’s still a lack of civic sense in the country.
Momina Sibtain then asked the question we wanted to know the answer to. “As a woman in politics is your voice ever heard?” she stated. “Yes, we have to make our voices heard. There are times when our voices are muzzled and even today important issues are still governed by male members but women like me and a lot of others, have to make themselves heard. If you put women anywhere, they will always come with compassion, give presence to social justice and economic empowerment. If you’ve ever given a woman an opportunity she will always work on these things which is critical for sustainable development in any country. In any society here the male and female members are not working together. That is an unhealthy society.” stated Sharmila Faruqi.
In the interview, Faruqi also described a hilarious incident at the Sindh assembly where she had left her Burberry bag unattended and it was mistaken to be a bomb by the other members who proceeded to throw water on it to defuse it claiming that “there’s never a dull day in politics.”
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