Fahmida Mirza

Dr. Fahmida Mirza فہمیدہ مرزا
Dr. Fahmida Mirza
18th Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Incumbent
Assumed office March 19, 2008
President	Asif Ali Zardari
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Preceded by	Chaudhry Amir Hussain
Personal details
Born	December 20, 1956 (1956-12-20) (age 54) Badin, Sindh, West-Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Spouse(s)	Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza
Religion	Islam

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Dr. Fahmida Mirza (Urdu: فہمیدہ مرزا), sometimes also spelled as Fehmida Mirza (born December 20, 1956), is a medical doctor, agriculturist and businesswoman from Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan who was elected as the first female Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan on March 19, 2008.^[1] She is also the first female parliamentary speaker in the Muslim world.^[2]

She has been elected to Parliament for three consecutive terms in 1997, 2002 and 2008 as MNA from Badin, in Sindh. Dr. Mirza graduated with a medical degree from Liaquat Medical College, Jamshoro, Sindh, in 1982 and did her house job in gynaecology and paediatrics.

Early life

Fahmida Mirza hails from a Sindhi-speaking Muslim political family in Sindh, the Mughal Qazis of Sindh. Her grandfather, Qazi Abdul Qayyum, was the first Muslim president of Hyderabad (Latifabad) Sindh Municipality. Her father, Qazi Abdul Majeed Abid (Qazi Abid) held different ministries in the provincial (Sindh) and federal cabinets from 1982 to 1990 including Provincial Minister for Communication, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Federal Minister for Education, and Federal Minister for Water and Power. Her Uncle, Qazi Mohammad Akbar, was also a long serving Provincial Minister in Sindh, including serving as Provincial Home Minister.

Mirza is the aunt of Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, a three time Provincial Sindh Minister and current member and leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party in the Sindh Provincial Assembly, who is related to the influential Sindhi political family through his mother. Pir Mazhar is currently the Senior Minister in the Sindh Cabinet with the portfolio of Education.

Career

She was trained as a doctor at Liaquat Medical College, Jamshoro, Sindh, in 1982. Before entering politics, Dr. Fahmida Mirza ran an advertising agency Informachine, later renamed Information Communication Limited (ICL). In 1997 she contested elections successfully from her husband's former constituency of Badin, Sindh, and has continued to be a parliamentarian since then. She is one of the few women elected from a non-reserved constituency.

Personal life

Dr. Mirza is married to Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza, a close friend of Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party. Both her husband and her brother, the renowned journalist, Qazi Asad Abid, are former Members of the National Assembly.^[3] Zulfikar Mirza is also currently a member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly and was former Provincial Home Minister.

See also

Pakistan portal

• Pakistan Peoples Party
• Politics of Pakistan
• Pir Mazhar Ul Haq
• Marvi Mazhar
• Qazi Abdul Majeed Abid
• Qazis of Hyderabad

References

1. ^ Woman elected Pakistani speaker BBC News, March 19, 2008
2. ^ "Speaker's Profile". National Assembly of Pakistan. http://www.na.gov.pk/intro_speaker.html. Retrieved 12 April 2010. 
3. ^ Amir Wasim. 'PPP names Fahmida for post of NA speaker' Dawn Newspaper, March 18, 2008

External links

• Speaker of the National Assembly
• Fehmida set to make history as ‘Madam Speaker’

Political offices
Preceded by Chaudhry Amir Hussain	Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan 2008 – present	Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Mirza, Fahmida
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 20, 1956
Place of birth	Badin, Sindh
Date of death
Place of death