KARACHI: As the first woman Senator from the Dalit caste, Krishna Kumari Kohli has an ambitious to-do list, from tackling honour killings to kidnappings and child marriage.

But for the former child bride from a poor Hindu family, the need to improve women and girls’ health and education is closest to her heart.

“Never in my wildest of dreams did I think I’d ever become a senator,” she said.

“If I can make a dent in these two areas, I’d have made a difference for times to come and my candidature would all have been worth it.”

Ms Kohli’s election marks a milestone both as a woman — who hold about one in five parliamentary seats — and as a member of the Dalit caste — a term she rejects as derogatory.

Dalits, formerly known as untouchables in the Hindu caste system, are at the bottom of the social hierarchy in neighbouring India and face widespread discrimination.

Most of the Hindu minority community live in southern Sindh, where 39-year-old Krishna Kumari Kohli is from, one of its poorest regions with high rates of child marriage and poverty.

Ms Kohli married at the age of 15, which is not unusual as one in five girls marry before the age of 18 in Pakistan, according to the United Nations.

After her surprise victory on the Pakistan Peoples Party ticket, Ms Kohli said she wanted to reduce ‘honour killings’.

“There are a lot of laws in place — for honour killing, for abolition of bonded lab­our, for protection of girls and boys against underage marriage,” said Kohli, a mother of four.

“What is needed is implementation and I want to be able to do that.” Although Ms Kohli was a child bride, her husband Lal Chand encouraged her to continue studying and she went on to earn a master’s degree in sociology.

“She has been working for the rights of the people, especially women, for quite some time,” he said.

“She was often reprimanded by her own relatives in her village for having abandoned the purdah and for coming out in streets and joining protest rallies,” he said.

“But the very same people are now calling me up and congratulating me,” added Ms Kohli, seated beside him and smiling.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2018