Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif

Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif (Urdu: كلثوم نواز شريف; born: 1950) PhD, is the wife of 12th Prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif,^[1] and is currently the First Lady of Pakistan for the third non-consecutive term. She is the granddaughter of Gama Pehelwan.^[2] Kalsoom remained the president of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) between 1999 and 2002.

Early life and education

Kalsoom was born in Lahore in a Kashmiri family. Her father, Medical doctor Hafiz Butt, was a well-known physician.^[1] Kalsoom Nawaz was educated at Islamia College where she received her B.A. in Elementary education in 1970. She then attended the Forman Christian College University, and received B.A. in Urdu literature in 1972. Kalsoom also holds an M.A. in Urdu poetry from Punjab University with a distinction. In 1976, Kalsoom completed her doctoral thesis where her thesis written on "Urdu Shayeri mein Fitrat Nigari 1857" (English: The Western Art of Poetry in Urdu language) from Punjab University.^[1] Her thesis contained the fundamental work on Western poetry and its influence to Urdu language and poetry. She is also the grand-daughter of the world famous and invincible wrestler, the Great Gama (maternally), who was also of Kashmiri origin.^[2] Kalsoom has two sisters and a brother.^[3] She is married to Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan.^[4]

Political career

Kalsoom is currently the First Lady of Pakistan for a third non-consecutive term; she remained at the post from 1990 to 1993 and 1997 to 1999.^[4][5][6] Kalsoom avoided herself to involved in the national politics working for the advancement of women in Pakistan. During the years that her husband, Nawaz Sharif, twice became the prime minister or even led the opposition against the then arch-rival Benazir Bhutto, Kalsoom avoided getting involved in politics herself.^[7]

However, this was changed when Chief of Army Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup d'état against her husband on 12 October 1999. Kalsoom was arrested by female member of Pakistan Army Corps of Military Police and immediately shifted to her local resident unlike her husband who was taken to Adiala Jail.^[7] According to her daughter, Maryam Nawaz, Kalsoom "dauntlessly challenged the usurper [of Musharraf] when a lot of men backed out,".^[7] Sharif named Kalsoom as the President of Pakistan Muslim League in 1999, and remained on post till 2002.^[7] For months before the exile of Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia, Kalsoom built a momentum for political activity. It paid off in the form of putting an end to the agony of her husband in jail.^[7]

References