Sassui Palijo ( Sindhi: سسئي پليجو) is a politician and a columnist from

Thatta Thatta is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Its construction was ordered by Jam Nizamuddin II in 1495. Thatta's historic signif ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Palijo is currently affiliated to

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

, served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

on women's reserved seat from Sindh from 2015 to 2021. She is also a two-time Member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly from PS-85 (Thatta-II).

Early life and education

She was born on 10 January 1976 into a Sindhi Muslim family, in Jungshahi,

. She is a double graduate, with an undergraduate degree in law from London and an MA in political science from

University of Sindh The University of Sindh (; ; informally known as Sindh University) is a public research university in Pakistan located in the city of Jamshoro in the Sindh province. It is one of the oldest universities in Pakistan and was certified by ISO in 2 ...

(1989).

Political career

She was first elected Member of the

Provincial Assembly of Sindh The Provincial Assembly of Sindh is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, its provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakis ...

from Mirpur Sakro area of constituency PS-85 (Thatta-II) in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and later in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, when she was the only directly elected female assembly member in Sindh out of 168 assembly members. She served as the Minister for Culture in the Sindh cabinet led by chief minister

Syed Qaim Ali Shah Syed Qaim Ali Shah ( ,) is a Pakistani politician who served as the elected Chief Minister of Sindh for three terms. His last two terms combined, a total of eight years, makes him the longest serving Chief Minister of Sindh. He is Sindh Preside ...

from 2008 to 2013. Her efforts led to the shifting of the archaeology department from Islamabad to Sindh. Around 300 books on Sindh's culture, history, and

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

were published during her tenure. She lost her seat in the

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the List of members of the 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly and the four Subdivisions of Pakistan, Pr ...

by a margin of only 409 votes, after which she became a senator on a reserved seat from Sindh from 2015 to 2021. Palijo was elected Chairperson of Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs in 2018.

Activism

Palijo has been an active campaigner for human rights and gender equality. During General Musharraf's rule, she was arrested many times in Islamabad, Thatta, Karachi, Lahore, and Thar for protesting against the military regime. In 2009, she strongly protested Musharraf's handing over of Hindu Gymkhana to the

National Academy of Performing Arts The National Academy of Performing Arts (; abbreviated as NAPA) is a performing arts school located at Hindu Gymkhana in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. NAPA was established in 2005 as an institution to conserve and teach performing arts and music. ...

, saying that Hindu Gymkhana would be reserved for activities of the Hindu community.

Personal life

Palijo's father, Ghulam Qadir Palijo, has been a Member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly from Thatta twice – in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

– and is a former chairman of Thatta district council. Her mother, Akhtar Baloch, was the first Pakistani woman politician to be arrested during

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

's military rule. Her grandmother, Zarina Baloch, was a writer, actress, folk singer, teacher, and political activist. Her uncle, Rasul Bux Palejo, was the founder of

Awami Tahreek Awami Tahreek or Qaumi Awami Tehreek, formerly Sindhi Awami Tahreek (), is a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist political party based in the Pakistani province of Sindh, and headquartered in Hyderabad. Formation Awami Tahreek was formed on 5 March 1 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palijo, Sassui Living people 1976 births Pakistani senators (14th Parliament) Sindhi people People from Thatta District 21st-century Pakistani women politicians