Krishna Kumari Kohli (, ; born 1 February 1979), also known by the nickname Kishoo Bai, is a Pakistani politician who has been the member of the

Senate of Pakistan The Senate of Pakistan, Constitution of Pakistan, constitutionally the House of the Federation, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. As of 2023, It has a maximum membership of 96, of which 92 are elected by the Member of th ...

since March 2018. She is the second Hindu woman to hold this position. She is known for her campaigns for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and against

bonded labour Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, or whe ...

; and was named as one of the BBC's 100 most influential women in 2018.

Early life and education

Kolhi was born on 1 February 1979 to a poor

Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...

family hailing from a village in

Nagarparkar Nagarparkar (, ) is a tehsil in at the base of the Karoonjhar Mountains in Tharparkar District in Sindh province of Pakistan. The historic Churrio Jabal Durga Mata Temple is situated here. The taluka is located at a distance of 129 km from ...

. When she was a child and a student of grade three, she and her family were held captive for three years as bonded labourers in a private jail allegedly owned by a landlord in

Umerkot District Umerkot District (Dhatki language, Dhatki: عمرکوٹ / عمرڪوٽ, , ), also known as Amarkot District, is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the southeastern part of Sindh province of Pakistan. The city of Umerkot is the capital of the dis ...

. They were only released after a police raid on their employer's land. She received her early education initially from Umerkot district and then from Mirpurkhas District. She got married at the age of 16 in 1994 while she was studying in grade nine. She continued her education after her marriage and in 2013 earned a master's degree in Sociology from the

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 ...

. In 2007, she attended the third Mehergarh Human Rights Youth Leadership Training Camp in Islamabad in which she studied the government of Pakistan, international migration, strategic planning and learned about the tools that could be used to create social change.

Political career

Kolhi joined the

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 ...

(PPP) as a social activist to campaign for the rights of marginalised communities in the Thar region. She also campaigns for women's rights, against bonded labour, and against sexual harassment in the workplace. In 2018, she was elected to the

in the Pakistan Senate elections as a PPP candidate on a reserved seat for women from

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 ...

. She took oath as Senator on 12 March 2018. She was the second Hindu woman elected to the Senate after Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla. In 2018, BBC named her one of the BBC's 100 most influential women. Following the 2020 Karak temple attack a new bill "Protection of the Rights of Religious Minorities Bill" was introduced in the Senate of Pakistan to avoid similar attack on minority worship places. But it was turned down by the Senate Standing Committee headed by

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan also known the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam or simply as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) (; ; JUI (F)) is an Islamic fundamentalist political party in Pakistan. Established as the ''Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam'' in 1945, it is th ...

(JUI-F) senator

Abdul Ghafoor Haideri Abdul Ghafoor Haideri (; born ) is a Pakistani politician. He has served as the Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 12 March 2015 and has been the central General Secretary of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam party since 1995., Retrieved ...

. Krishna Kumari Kolhi walked out of the Senate during the meeting as a form of protest.

References

External links

Profile
at Senate of Pakistan website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolhi, Krishna Living people Pakistan People's Party politicians Politicians from Sindh Members of the Senate of Pakistan Pakistani Hindus Thari people University of Sindh alumni 1979 births Sindhi Hindus

Early life and education

Political career

See also

References

External links