Pakistan Elects 1st Ever Hindu 'Dalit' Woman to Senate

In a historic win, Pakistan's Krishna Kumari Kohli has become the first-ever senator from the Hindu, lower caste 'Dalit' woman in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation, after running under the banner of the left-leaning Pakistan People s Party, or PPP.

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"I feel delighted, this was unthinkable for me, to reach the Senate," Kumari told The Associated Press Sunday, after being elected to the Senate. "I will continue to work for the rights of the oppressed people, especially for the empowerment of women, their health, and education." 

Thari Hindu woman, Kumari, who was elected to the Senate for the socialist PPP, Saturday, belongs to a remote village of the Nagarparkar district in the Sindh province of Pakistan. 

Kumari, a social leader who has been working to uplift the impoverished and underserved communities, particularly women, in the Thar district of Pakistan, was elected to a reserved seat for women from Pakistan's province of Sindh.  

She was born in 1979 to a peasant family from the “Dalit” community, which is the most oppressed class in India and other countries in South Asia under the opressive Indian social caste system. Married at the age of 16 while she was in the 9th grade, Kumari continued her studies and went on to complete a masters degree in sociology from Sindh University in 2013. She also comes from Hindu's 'Dalits,' the relgion's most oppressed class.

Not unaccustomed to hardships, she, along with her family members, was held as bonded laborers, in a private jail, allegedly owned by the landlord of Kunri of Umerkot district.

Kumari also comes from a family of freedom fighters. Her grandfather, Rooplo Kohli, fought against British colonialist powers when they attacked Nagarparkar district in Sindh in 1857. Subsequently, he was arrested and hanged by British soldiers on Aug. 22, 1858.  

In the recent Senate's elections polling was held in the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies to fill 52 vacant seats, the ruling conservative Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N, party, won 15 seats, currently holding 33 seats in the Senate, followed by PPP, which won 12 seats.