'Women’s Day special': Krishna Kohli chairs Senate session

ISLAMABAD: Krishna Kumari Kohli, the first-ever Thari Dalit woman to be elected as Pakistan’s Senator, is chairing a session of the Upper House to commemorate International Women’s Day on Friday.

“Chairman Senate of Pakistan decided to make our colleague Krishna Kumari Kohli aka Kishoo Bai to chair the Senate for today on Women’s Day,” Senator Faisal Javed tweeted.

Chairman Senate of Pakistan decided to make our colleague Krishna Kumari Kohli aka Kishoo Bai to Chair the Senate for today on #WomensDay #DoYouKnowRealPakistan pic.twitter.com/vfWP7aS3tl

— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) March 8, 2019

Krishna Kumari, a woman from the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy was elected to the Senate for the first time in Pakistan.

Read more: Islam gives great importance to women’s rights: President Alvi

The victory of Krishna Kumari Kohli, a Pakistan Peoples Party leader, in the Senate election stirred a wave of optimism on social media, as Pakistanis celebrated the rare success for a woman from a marginalised community at the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy. Hailing from Dhana Gam in Nagarparkar, Tharparkar, Krishna, 39, was held for three years as bonded labor along with her family by a landlord in Umerkot. They were later set free in a police raid.

Like every other country, Pakistan is also celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) with full swing on March 8 (today) to honor achievements of women in various fields of life and renewed commitment to empower them.

This year’s theme of the Day is “Think equal, build smart, and innovate for change”.