Krishna Kumari Kohli ( sd, ڪرشنا ڪماري ڪولھي ; 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 Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper house, upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly (Pakistan), National As ...

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 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 centuries. In some countries, ...

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, the pe ...

; 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: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...

family hailing from a village in

Nagarparkar Nagarparkar ( ur, , sd, ننگرپارڪر), 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 ...

. 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: عمرکوٹ / عمرڪوٽ, sd, عمرڪوٽ ضلعو, ur, ), also known as Amarkot District, is a district in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The city of Umerkot is the capital of the district. Sindhi is the native l ...

. 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 Mirpur Khas District ( sd, ضلعو ميرپورخاص, ur, ) is one of the districts in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its capital is Mirpur Khas. Administrative divisions The district of Mirpur Khas is sub-divided into 7 tehsils: * Digri ...

. 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 ( ur, ; sd, سنڌ يونيورسٽي; informally known as Sindh University) is a public research university in Pakistan located in the city of Jamshoro. It is one of the oldest universities in Pakistan and was certifi ...

. 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 (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. 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) (JUI-F) senator

Abdul Ghafoor Haideri Maulana 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., Re ...

. 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 BBC 100 Women

Early life and education

Political career

See also

References

External links