Dr Nafisa Shah, Talented Lady Politician of Sindh

Doctor Nafisa Shah, talented and active politician of Suhni Sindh

Nafisa Shah born on 20 Jan 1968 at Khairpur. She is daughter of Qaim Ali Shah from his second wife Husn Afroze Borhi who was daughter of A.K. Brohi.  Currently, she is member of National Assembly and Central Information Secretary of PPP.

She completed her O-Levels at St Joseph’s Convent School, A-Levels at Karachi Grammar School and Bachelor of Arts at a German University. After completing her undergraduate studies, Shah worked with Newsline and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

Dr. Nafisa Shah spent her childhood and teenage years actively participating in her father’s election campaigns along with her siblings. Later, she volunteered with former PM Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, conducting research for speeches and dealing with policy matters.

Her reporting on environmental problems, development and gender issues won her acclaim at home and abroad. In 1993, Dr. Nafisa Shah received All-Pakistan Newspaper Society’s Best Article of the Year award and was included on United Nations’ Global Roll of Honour. In recognition of her groundbreaking research work, Nafisa Shah was admitted as a Chevening Scholar to the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at Oxford University. After completing her Masters in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Shah enrolled in a doctoral program in anthropology at Oxford University.

Upon returning to Pakistan in 2000 for her field research on Karo Kari (honour killings) in upper Sindh, Dr. Nafisa was drawn into active politics. Subsequently, she contested Khairpur’s local body elections and won. From then on, she has worked as a committed public representative.

After spending 10 years conducting research, Nafisa Shah completed her doctoral thesis on "Honour Violence, Law and Power: A Case Study of Karo Kari in Upper Sindh" at the University of Oxford in 2010. According to news sources, the examiners praised the quality of her thesis and “said that the argument and the data mustered to support the thesis were original, persuasive and lucidly and coherently presented. Her book on the topic is under publication.

Victory during the 2001 local elections for Khairpur’s Nazim (mayor-ship) enabled Doctor Nafisa Shah to implement her vision for inclusive, community supported development. By launching a successful hepatitis vaccination drive and building several schools, hospitals, museums and recreation centers,  Nafisa Shah set the benchmark high for her contemporaries and successors. For her remarkable administrative work in an “exclusively male-dominated” playing field, she was nominated for a collective Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 – a rare accomplishment, and a significant first for a Pakistani woman.

Later, she was assigned the chair of Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Development (NCHD). Discharging her responsibilities, Dr. Shah has built schools, adult literacy centers, vocational training institutes and relief camps for people displaced by floods and internal warfare. Her organization functions as a vital bridge between public and private sectors, enabling Pakistan achieve Millennium Development Goals.

She has been awarded dozens of decorations and awards due to her public work. Most notably, she was identified as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum in 2005 and included in Newsweek Pakistan’s “100 Women Who Shake Pakistan” in 2011

Dr Nafisa Shah elected as Nazim of District Khairpur and remained as Nazim from 2001 to 2007. She was elected as MNA on a reserved seat for women from PPP platform during GE-2008. She was re-elected again as member of National Assembly from PPP platform on seat reserved for women during general elections 2013.

She against participated in general elections 2018 on National Assembly as a candidate of PPP on NA-208 (Khairpur-I).  During this combat, she acquired 107,847 votes and defeated Ghous Ali Shah.