Marvi Memon facts for kids

Marvi Memon (Sindhi: ماروي ميمڻ) is a well-known Pakistani politician. She was born on July 21, 1972. She served as the leader of the Benazir Income Support Programme from February 2015 to June 2018. She was also a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, which is like the main law-making body of the country. She served there from March 2008 to June 2011 and again from June 2013 to May 2018.

Early Life and Education

Marvi Memon was born in July 1972 in Karachi, a big city in Pakistan. Her father is Nisar Memon. Her family is from the Sindhi Memon community.

She went to school in different cities around the world. She studied in Karachi, Kuwait City, and Paris. Later, she went to the London School of Economics in London, England. In 1993, she earned her degree in International Relations. This subject helps people understand how different countries work together.

Professional Career Before Politics

Before becoming a politician, Marvi Memon gained a lot of experience. She worked as an intern at several important places. These included newspapers like DAWN and magazines like Newsline. She also worked at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. She even spent time at the United States embassy in Islamabad.

After finishing her studies, she worked as a banker at Citibank. There, she focused on marketing and making sure customers were happy. Later, she started her own business called Trakker. This company became Pakistan's largest service for tracking vehicles. This showed her skills as an entrepreneur, someone who starts and runs a business. From 2004 to 2007, she worked for the Inter-Services Public Relations. She helped monitor and analyze media news. She also advised the Board of Investment on media matters.

Political Journey

Marvi Memon started her political journey as an advisor. She worked with Pakistan's Board of Investment. Her main job was to advise on how to promote Pakistan's profitable industries. In 2007, she joined a political party called Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q).

Serving in the National Assembly

In the 2008 Pakistani general election, she was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan. She got a special seat reserved for women from the Punjab region. As a member of the National Assembly (MNA), she worked in the opposition. This means her party was not in charge of the government. She was part of several important committees. These included committees for Environment, Information Technology, and Kashmir. She focused a lot on helping women in both rural and urban areas. She worked on laws to protect them.

Some of the important laws and reports she helped with include:

• A law about acid and burns crimes. This law was even featured in an Oscar-winning documentary from Pakistan.
• A law to create the Pakistani Institute of Parliamentary Services. This is a place for lawmakers to get training and do research.
• Rules for airlines after plane crashes.
• A report on floods by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. This report looked at climate change and what the government should do before and after floods.
• Protecting the rights of women in rural areas who faced honor killings.
• Ensuring fair rights for workers in the agriculture sector.

In 2011, she left the National Assembly. She also left the PML-Q party. She did this because the party joined a government led by another party, the PPP.

In 2012, she wrote a book called My Parliamentary Diaries. It shared her experiences as a lawmaker.

Joining Pakistan Muslim League (N)

In 2012, Marvi Memon joined another political party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N). She was again elected to the National Assembly. This time, she got a reserved seat for women from the Sindh region. She first worked as a coordinator for the Prime Minister's youth wing. Later, she became the Chairperson of the Standing Committee for Information Broadcasting and Heritage. In this role, she helped make changes to how the government's information ministry worked.

In February 2015, she was appointed as the Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme. This program helps families in need. In this role, she had the status of a Minister of State.

In April 2017, she was asked to join the Advisory Council on Gender and Development at the World Bank. This council advises on how to help women and girls around the world.

She continued to serve in the government. She was a federal minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. She held this position until the National Assembly's term ended in May 2018.

In November 2018, Marvi Memon started her own company called Lifelong Learners Consultancy. This company provides advice on many topics. These include development, national security, helping women, managing media, and reducing poverty. They work with organizations, universities, governments, and businesses.

Awards and Recognition

Marvi Memon has received several awards for her work.

• In March 2017, she received the Speaker's Democracy Award. This award was given by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
• In July 2017, she received the French National Order of Merit. This is a high honor given by the French Ambassador to Pakistan.