Islamabad: Dera Ghazi Khan is the last district of Punjab in the far south, a belt stretching along Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Balochistan and Sindh simultaneously.

The tribal system is still in practice there and feudal lords have the ultimate word on matters and disputes of all kinds, ranging from stolen goats to murders.

For decades, the Laghari, Mazari, Dareshak Khosa families and other powerful tribes have been deciding the fate of the people in this district. They are the virtual masters of the residents’ lives and lords of the land and rarely does stand up to them.

But, with the July 25 general elections proving a game changer for the entire country and with the people overwhelmingly voting for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the name of change, Dera Ghazi Khan too is feeling the winds of change.

Sardars of the district were left high and dry in the aftermath of the elections and all their manoeuvring to win national and provincial assemblies’ seats proved futile, as the masses ruled in favour of cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan’s PTI.

A National College of Arts (NCA) graduate, Zartaj Gul, 34, a female candidate with no past success in politics, defeated the heavyweight Laghari family from NA-191 DG Khan seat with 79,817 votes, a lead of 25,000 against PML-N’s Awais Khan Laghari, who secured 54,548 votes. PTI MNA-elect Gul hails from North Waziristan Agency and recently moved to Dera Ghazi Khan. She calls it her second home and her victory as the first step towards emancipation of women and oppressed classes from the centuries-old feudal system.

“I want to play my role in bringing change,” she said, adding that she entered politics at Imran Khan’s call, to change the system. She wants to prove that women can work at par with male politicians. In 2013 too, she contested the election, but did not win.

According to Gul, people succeed due to their will power, perseverance, belief and struggle. “I belong to the tribal areas, which is why it is not in me to give up easily.” It does not make a difference whether you are rich or poor, she believes. “I entered politics to change the centuries-old, rusty, rickety system and to transform the country under the leadership of PTI chairman Imran Khan, into a truly people-friendly, welfare state. Khan is a far-sighted leader who believes in struggle and never bows before difficulties,” she added.

After her victory, DG Khan’s residents regard Gul as a role model for their daughters and are even naming newborns after her.