Maryam Nawaz’s appointment as the PML-N’s chief organiser has not been received well by senior party members. Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “He will quit if Maryam is awarded the party’s presidency.”
The opposition to Maryam Nawaz’s appointment is rooted in the long history of an all-male monopoly on nepotism in politics. She is not the first one to step into her parent’s shoe in the party. To name a few: Senator Affan Ullah Khan is the son of the Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan, Federal Minister Khurram Dastgir is the son of National Assembly member Ghulam Dastgir Khan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is son of Federal Minister Khaqan Abbasi.
Hamza Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz’s first cousin, was the PML-N pick for Punjab chief minister’s office, a position formerly held by his father. Hamza lost the contest to Parvez Elahi. No one objected to him being the party’s chief ministerial candidate, not even Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
There was also no opposition from the PPP members to Bilawal Bhutto’s appointment as the foreign minister. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s response to Meher Bano Qureshi’s defeat in the by-poll elections of Multan magnifies how nepotism works only for male offsprings. Meher Bano, daughter of former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was contesting from NA-157. A seat that had been vacated after her brother, Zain Qureshi, won a Punjab assembly by-poll, and decided to resign from the National Assembly. Meher Bano lost the election to Syed Musa Ali Gillani, son of the former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said that the defeat was a result of voters’ growing disdain for dynastic politics, overlooking that the successful candidate carried the same credential.
Fawad Chaudhry’s comment is contrary to the representation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s male dynasts in the National Assembly. Just to name a few: Hammad Azhar is the son of former Punjab Governor Mian Muhammad Azhar; Omar Ayub is the son of former Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub and grandson of former President Mohammad Ayub Khan. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, along with his son, Zain Hussain Qureshi, were members of the National Assembly. Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s father, Sajjad Hussain Qureshi, was governor Punjab and deputy chairman of Senate.
Disdain for nepotism comes from the belief that some kin is being unjustifiably favoured over a more qualified person. There is a feeling of inequality and unfairness. Similarly, it’s unfair to hold women to a significantly higher standard when it comes to nepotistic practices in politics.
Nepotism is not exclusive to Pakistan. Male heirs of established politicians in American politics have also benefitted immensely from the political connections and aides of their father.
John R. Boeher, Robert. F Kennedy’s biographer, has written that the Kennedy brothers benefitted immensely from the political connections of their father, Ambassador Joseph Patrick Kennedy. Boeher writes, Joe Kennedy was able to get help from top Democrat state leaders in the electoral campaigns of all his sons; one went on to be the president, while two served as US senators.
The 2000 US presidential election featured the two male offsprings of established politicians, rivaling each other. The son of former President George H.W. Bush, Governor George W. Bush was the presidential candidate for the Republican party and Senator Al Gore was the Democratic party’s candidate for vice president whose father Al Gore Sr. had served as a US senator. Both candidates held electoral offices, and were in a race to earn their respective dynasties greater political clout. George Bush went on to win the election, occupying the office once held by his father. While the United States has yet to elect its first female president, twice in the nation’s history former first sons have been elected presidents.
Disdain for nepotism comes from the belief that some kin is being unjustifiably favoured over a more qualified person. There is a feeling of inequality and unfairness. Similarly, it’s unfair to hold women to a significantly higher standard when it comes to nepotistic practices in politics. It’s unfair to throw the silver spoon label at Maryam Nawaz, and ignore male nepotists that serve on cabinets and in parliaments.
