Dr. Fahmida Mirza was born in the city of Hyderabad in Sindh on the 20th of December 1956. She is married to a senior PPP politician and former interior minister Sindh Mr. Zulfiqar Mirza who is a close companion of former president of Pakistan Mr. Asif Ali Zardari whose is also the Co-Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party.

Professionally she is also a certified gynecologist and pediatric from the Liaquat Medical University Jamshooro Sindh from where she graduated in the year 1982.

Due to the fact that Dr. Fahmida Mirza belongs to an influential political family from Sindh, her family is well known in current politics. For example her forefather was the earliest Muslim President of Hyderabad; her father had been the Minister for Communication, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Federal Minister for Water and Power, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and the Minister for Education.

Prior to coming into the politics of Pakistan she was the chief executive of an advertisement company in Karachi. Her introduction into the Pakistan People’s Party occurred in 1997 and from then on has been a key member of the PPP.

She was a Pakistan’s first woman to become National Assembly Speaker and in all was the 18th speaker in the democratic history of Pakistan until early June 2013. Currently she is an elected MNA and sits in opposition benches in the national assembly.

This article was last updated on Aug 2013