Maryam Nawaz Sharif is a quite renowned face in the politics of Pakistan. The daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam has successfully claimed her space and image among the country’s young leaders. Breaking the stereotype of women staying away from politics in Pakistan, she has been taking forward the legacy of Benazir Bhutto as a strong female politician in a Muslim dominated country, shaking the ruling government of Imran Khan with hard-hitting questions. Maryam was selected as one of the BBC's 100 Women in March 2017 and was featured on The New York Times list of 11 Powerful Women Around the World for the year 2017 in December. Maryam Sharif is seen as the successor of her father in politics and that is visible in the way she connects with people and supporters. Despite facing house arrests and accusations of scams and even being jailed, her political support base hasn’t shaken yet. She remains a popular leader. Here’s all you need to know about one of the rising stars of Pakistan politics:
Maryam Nawaz Sharif was born on 28th October 1973 in Lahore. She is the daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Kulsoom Butt.
She completed her early education at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore. She wanted to be a doctor and for that, she took admission to King Edward Medical College, which she had to leave without a degree after questions were raised on her illegal admission.
Maryam was initially involved in the family’s charitable and educational initiatives. She became active in Politics in 2010 and became the prominent campaigner in the 2013 general elections as the election campaign in-charge of Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Sharif assumed the PM office for 3rd time by winning elections.
Breaking the patriarchal stereotype, Nawaz Sharif has been giving his support to his daughter and been backing her in the field over his sons Hassan and Hussain.
Maryam started participating in politics after Nawaz Sharif had to resign from his post of Prime Minister in 2018 for being disqualified from holding public office by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and was sentenced to jail for 10 years following his name in the Panama Papers. She was given a ticket to contest elections in June 2018 that she couldn’t fight due to a 7-year sentence in corruption charges in July 2018.
She too had to be in jail over accusations of corruption (that were linked to Panama papers) when she was fined and sentenced to 7 years of jail in 2018. Maryam came back in October 2019 after the suspension of her sentence by the Islamabad High Court. After coming back she alleged Imran Khan Government of installing cameras in her cell.
She has been facing various controversies over her education. She finished her graduation from the University of Punjab in literature and was doing a Ph.D. in 2012. Her M.A. in English literature and Ph.D. in Political Science degrees were questioned by Lahore High Court as uncertainty over earned or honorary Ph.D.
Maryam is married to a politician and retired Pakistan Army officer Muhammad Safdar Awan. She has three children with Safdar Awan.
