Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s recent assertion that she was “perhaps the first Pakistani woman” to be jailed and subjected to the “worst mistreatment” for political reasons has immediately sparked a public debate and calls for fact-checking by historians and political commentators.
@dawn.todayChief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz said on Monday claimed that she was the first woman in Pakistan to be “jailed and treated the worst” while addressing a meeting. She aded that Pakistan’s political culture often rallies around those facing difficult circumstances, noting that “there’s a human psyche in Pakistan that people stand with those in a different situation.” Reflecting on her own experience from when she was imprisoned in 2018, Maryam commented, “Even in 2018, when Nawaz Sb and I were in jail, I was perhaps the first Pakistani woman they put in jail and was mistreated the worst.” She argued that despite those conditions, her party still chose to participate in the electoral process. “But we didn’t boycott the elections; we contested even in the worst circumstances,” she said. According to the chief minister, “People who boycott the elections are the ones who know they’ll lose.” #DawnToday♬ original sound – Dawn.com
During a party meeting on November 24, 2025, while reflecting on her 2018 imprisonment in Adiala Jail alongside her father, Nawaz Sharif, the Chief Minister claimed, “Even in 2018, when Nawaz Sb and I were in jail, I was perhaps the first Pakistani woman they put in jail and was mistreated the worst.” She went on to mention “oppression and torture,” including having cameras in her cell and being provided only one meal a day.
Social media users, commentators, and political analysts were quick to point out that Ms. Nawaz’s claim overlooks the well-documented political detentions and arrests of other prominent women in Pakistan’s history, particularly during periods of military rule.
Key historical figures who faced imprisonment or detention for political reasons long before 2018 include
Begum Nusrat Bhutto (Mother of Benazir Bhutto): Following the military coup that ousted her husband, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in 1977, Begum Nusrat Bhutto was repeatedly arrested, imprisoned, and placed under house arrest by the Zia-ul-Haq regime as she led the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD).
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto: The daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Pakistan’s first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto was frequently arrested, detained, and placed under house arrest for her political opposition to the military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq. Her imprisonment began as early as 1977 and continued through the early 1980s before she went into self-imposed exile. She spent nearly six years in prison or under detention.
A significant number of female political activists, especially those associated with the PPP, were arrested, jailed, and reportedly tortured during the Zia regime, including one activist, Mrs. Zubaida Malik, who was reportedly held in the notorious Shahi Qilla.
While the severity of treatment is a matter of personal account, historical records clearly establish that CM Punjab was not the first, or even among the first, Pakistani women to be politically imprisoned, nor was the experience of enduring hardship in jail unprecedented for female leaders.
The discussion highlights the sensitive nature of personal political narratives and the necessity of ensuring such claims align with established historical facts.
