Malik Mehr un Nisa Afridi

Benazir Bhutto interview during Socialist International meeting in 2007. Mehrun Nisa Afridi in Background

She joined PPP on April 24, 1968, soon after the party was founded by Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In 1970 when Hayat Sherpao started PPP Women Wing she was appointed president of Gunj Ward. She organized Gunj Ward by going door to door which was very difficult at that time in conservative Pushtun society.

She was appointed by Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as a member of the board of Directors in Pashto Academy. As member she checked all the Pusho courses which was thought in Matric, F.A, B.A and M.A. She sent all the anti Pakistan and Anti Quid-e-Azam material to Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto through Dr. Mahboob-ur-Rehman (Who was O.S.D for N.W.F.P). Her efforts were appreciated.

She was appointed chief organizer of the Peoples Student Federation (Women Wing) in 1973 the notification to this effect was issued by Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Due to her team's hard work, the Peoples Student Federation won the first University Union Election and Mr. Amir Muhammad Khan Apalo was elected the first Peshawar university president. She organized PSF in all departments of University of Peshawar, Gomal University and many other girls degree colleges and high schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA.

She was elected Provincial General Secretary of PPP Women Wing by a two-thirds majority in the inter-party election held on August 16, 1976, which were supervised by Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

She was sent to a Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) summit now called Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in which she traveled to Turkey on April 20, 1977, from there to Iran on April 22, 1977, and finally to USSR on April 27, 1977.

In 1977 martial law was imposed by General Zia ul Haq. She was appointed President of Bhutto Release Committee N.W.F.P formed by Begum Nusrat Bhutto. She organized and led many protests to release Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

She was arrested in 1978 by the military regime of Zia-ul-Haq and spent two years and nine months in prison given "C" Class where she was mentally tortured. She was kept in a cell with a mad woman who used to deprive her of sleep by making loud noise. She was asked by the martial law authorities to remove the PPP flags from her car and residence. She did not obey the orders of a dictator. She suffered a heart attack in prison. She was later kept in house arrest and her house was declared a sub-jail.

... In Khyber I told the people that being a tribal I went to jail and used bricks as my pillow and ugly old blanket for sleeping but I never compromised on my principles and sacrificed everything for the sake of my country and democracy.[7]

After release she spent most of the time fighting cases of other political victims who were jailed. In defiance of the military regime she painted her vehicle in the three colors of Pakistan People's Party. She refused to bow before a dictator and beg for mercy while other prominent party members had done so for the sake of their freedom.

She was elected the President of Women's Wing (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) in 1985 and remained till February 2, 2010, when she was too ill to carry on with her duties.

She became a member of Pakistan's Lower House of Parliament in 1988. She served the nation till the Parliament was dissolved by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

She was appointed member of five Standing Committee in different Ministries.

As MNA she went on an official visit to Hungary, on 22 October 1989.

As MNA she went on an official visit to Geneva, Switzerland on 14 November 1989.

As MNA she went on an official visit to the United States on 24 November 1989.

In 1996 when People's Party again came to power she was an adviser and a confidant of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Martial law was imposed once again in 1999 by General Musharraf. She was once again struggling for her party by organizing protests. She worked very hard to organize the party in those turbulent times.

She became the member of the Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party from October, 2001 to 2008.

Benazir Bibi conveyed her wish, to Mehrun Nisa Afridi to associate herself with National Democratic Institute[8] (NDI) for the promotion of ladies in politics. She contacted NDI and they offered her to become a Master Trainer N.W.F.P. Which she accepted. Consequently, a three-day workshop was held in Islamabad to this effect which she attended. After coming back to Peshawar she organized three workshop's for ladies, one each at Dera Ismail Khan, Lukky Marwat and Haripur. The turnout of the ladies from different political parties was most encouraging. The ratio of lady trainees from Pakistan Peoples Party was the highest in these workshops. The team of NDI appreciated her work.

On January 25, 2004, she arranged PPP Ladies Convention N.W.F.P at Nishter Hall Peshawar under the President-ship of Mr Jehangir Bader. The other Honorable Guest were Central Members of the party Mr Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Begum Ruqqia Khanum Soomro, Miss Fozia Habib, Begum Samina Razaq, Miss Nargis Faiz Malik, Khwaja Muhammad Khan Hoti, Mr Mirza Khan other Male & Female Provencial office bearers.

She attended Social International's 50th Anniversary held at Lisbon, Portugal, 29–30 June 2001 with Benazir Bibi.[9]

She attended Social International's Casablanca Council – Peace, Security, Development held at Casablanca, Morocco, 31 May-1 June 2002 with Benazir Bibi.[10]

She attended Socialist International Women held at Athens, Greece, 27–28 January 2006.[11]

She attended a meeting of the Council of the Socialist International held at Geneva, Switzerland, 29–30 June 2007 with Benazir Bibi.[12]

She became a member of the National Assembly again in 2008.

She was a member of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Women's Development[13] and Standing Committee on Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON).[14]

She requested party ticket to contest in the 2013 General Election from NA-18. However she was hospitalized and died.