Hameeda Shahid is making history. She is standing for parliament in a conservative tribal area of Pakistan which borders Afghanistan.
Dir was once a Taliban stronghold where women had few rights and were not even allowed vote.
She is fighting for a seat on former cricketer Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf's ticket.
The moment she steps outside her home, men start chanting the slogan “long live PTI”. A few schoolboys stop and stare from a distance.
“I thought that if a woman can cast a vote, she can also run for election, it changed my mind,” says Hameeda Shahid.
Last year, Pakistan's Election Commission refused to accept council election results in Dir as no woman had voted.
It said at least 10% of voters must be women in each constituency for an election to be valid. Hameeda Shahid seized her chance.
“I am reaching out to women irrespective of their party affiliations and they say that they are going to vote for me,” she says.
“They are very happy to get the opportunity to vote and now want me to win a seat in parliament.”
It's the first time a woman…
