Back in 2011, 34-year-old Hina Rabbani Khar was appointed as Pakistan's first woman foreign minister. She was also the youngest to hold the position.
Her visit to India created quite a buzz, with Khar making headlines in both India and Pakistan for her style statement. An article in The Guardian then wrote: "Khar's glamorous turn triggered a media swoon and became the buzz of the subcontinental chattering class" because of her "pearl necklaces, elegant costumes, Cavalli sunglasses, and a stylish Hermes-made Birkin bag worth at least $9,000 (£5,500)".
11 years later, little has changed. As Khar took over the same ministry on 18 April, after being appointed as the deputy foreign minister in Pakistan's new government – the chatter on social media and headlines of news portals, revolved around her clothes, bags, and accessories.
Surely, there's more to Hina Rabbani Khar than her Birkin bags; and surely, there's more to women politicians than style statements.
Who Is Hina Khar?
Born in Muzaffargarh district, and into an 'influential feudal family', Khar joined politics when she was just 25 years old.
She is a graduate of the Lahore University of Management Science, and attended the University of Massachusetts where she pursued Business Management.
She was first elected to the National Assembly in 2002, representing the Muzaffargarh-II constituency in Punjab. Khar's father Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar represented the family earlier. In 2002, a law was passed in Pakistan, requiring those contesting elections for National Assembly to have an undergraduate degree – pushing her into political limelight.
According to The Guardian, Khar's "landlord father Noor addressed rallies and glad-handed voters; Hina stayed largely at home, with not even her photo appearing on the posters."
Khar was one of the handful of ministers who transitioned from the military government of General Pervez Musharraf to the civilian government, when she joined the Pakistan People’s Party before the 2008 general elections in Pakistan.
Khar's Famous Visit to India
After her 2008 re-election, Khar was first appointed minister of state for finance and economic affairs in the Yousaf Raza Gillani cabinet. Three years later, on 11 February 2011, she was appointed as minister of state for foreign affairs, as a part of cabinet reshuffle. Five months later, she formally took over as the country's foreign minister.
During her time as the foreign minister, Khar travelled to India and led the talks, representing Pakistan – in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks when talks were suspended. She reportedly discussed trade and Kashmir, and held talks with the Hurriyat Conference, which the then Opposition, led by the BJP, was criticised.
'Focus on Regional Interests': Khar's Stand
She quit active politics after her two-year stint as foreign minister in 2013. However, she returned to politics after she was elected to a reserved seat for women in the National Assembly in the 2018 election.
In a 2015 interview, Khar told Al Jazeera that the Asif Ali Zardari government pivoted to regional interests.
"We didn’t need to have a great relationship with London, or with Washington DC, but we needed a great relationship with Kabul and Delhi," she had told the news channel.
A year later, in another interview to Pakistani channel Geo News, Khar said that Pakistan cannot "conquer Kashmir through war". She added that progress on the dispute hinges on an "environment of mutual trust with India," The Wire pointed.
"I believe that Pakistan cannot conquer Kashmir through war and if we cannot do that, the option we are left with is dialogue, and dialogue can only proceed with a partner with whom we have normal relations and a certain level of mutual trust," she had said.
The Misogynistic Remarks Her Way
It was not only social media accounts, and newspaper articles that were filled with sexist tweets.
Former Pakistan Minister Fawad Hussain too launched a sexist attack on her on social media calling her, a 'low IQ' woman, whose only claim to fame is 'Berkin bags and expensive eye shades'.
On her way back from India in 2011, responding to misogynistic headlines in newspapers, she said – "You don't want the attention to focus on the frivolous. A guy in my place would never get such attention, nobody would be talking about his suit. I refuse to be apologetic about it, I will continue to be who I am."
And perhaps, her reply would be the same in 2022 too.
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