The journey of Saniya Naz: Roadside school student becomes ambitious politician

With no political experience, Saniya Naz likes to be called a social worker rather than a politician.

KARACHI:

The relentless heat, heavy downpours and the thick smog that Saniya Naz braved to study at a roadside school eventually helped her in the long run.

“I feel the pain of the poor. I understand what poverty is. I will help those in need,” says the 26-year-old Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate for a general seat in violence-prone Lyari. Saniya, who is one of the youngest candidates running for elections, faced hard times as a child. She says this gave her the heart and spirit to work for others. With no political experience, she likes to be called a social worker rather than a politician.

“When I was younger, there were times when we would eat only once a day. There would be no food in the house and my mother would go to a nearby dargah to get dates and rotis for us.” To support the family, her mother worked as a maid and her father was as a carpenter who made carom boards.

Despite such conditions, Saniya remained firm in her resolve to study, even if it was in a roadside school in Moosa Lane. With no roof over their heads, a curtain veiled the students from passersby and vehicles. The children had to sit on muddy rugs.

Saniya, who has studied up to the Intermediate level, had to leave school and become a teacher to support her family after her father died. But social work - whether it was starting a saving group for the Orangi Pilot Project or opening up schools in slums - was always her passion.

With the elections creeping closer, Saniya has started holding small rallies in the evenings. “I never write down speeches. Our people want to hear what the truth is and I always speak from the heart.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2013.