5 women ministers included in the new Pakistan cabinet

Pakistan has been in the news for the dethroning of the incumbent government led by Imran Khan. Pakistan has also witnessed the formation of a new federal cabinet, with Shahbaz Sharif taking over as the new Prime minister.

The most appreciable factor of the new cabinet is the inclusion of five women in integral positions. 

Hina Rabbani Khar, who belongs to Pakistan’s People’s Party, has assumed the position of the new minister of state for foreign affairs. It is not her first time as a minister. She had served as the foreign minister of  Pakistan in 2011, making history by becoming the youngest and the first woman to hold this position. 

Sherry Rehman is the second woman to be a part of the new cabinet. She has been sworn in as the new minister for climate change. She had previously held the position of minister for information and broadcasting. She received the additional portfolios of Health, Women Development and Culture. She is the first woman in Pakistan to become the Opposition leader. She has also served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the US. 

Marriyum Aurangzeb of Pakistan Muslim League- N is appointed the new minister for information and broadcasting. She had been at the helm of the same portfolio twice before. Aurangzeb became the minister for information and broadcasting for the first time in October 2016, when Nawaz Sherif was the prime minister. She lost the position in 2017 after the disbanding of the cabinet. However, she was reinstated as the minister for information and broadcasting in the Abbasi cabinet. 

The cabinet also has two fresh faces in the form of Shazia Marri and Aisha Ghaus Pasha. Aisha Ghaus is the new minister for finance, whereas Shazia Marri will lead the Benazir Income Supporters Programme (BISP). 

The inclusion of women in the cabinet is a welcome move. However, the new cabinet has a huge burden on its shoulders, as the country is facing an unprecedented financial and political crisis.