Omar Abdullah's J&K Cabinet To Feature Sole Woman Minister - Sakina Itoo

Sakina Masood (Itoo) was one of five National Conference (NC) leaders, and the only woman, to be sworn in as a minister in the Omar Abdullah cabinet in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, 16 October.

Alongside Sakina Itoo, Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, and Satish Sharma also took the oath of office.

While Sakina Itoo and Javed Dar hail from the Kashmir Valley, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, and Satish Sharma are from the Jammu region. Meanwhile, the Congress announced it would not join the council of ministers for the time being.

Who is Sakina Masood (Itoo)?

In the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, Sakina Itoo, a prominent politician associated with the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), won the DH Pora assembly segment in South Kashmir's Kulgam district.

She secured 36,623 votes, achieving a significant victory margin of 17,449 votes over her closest rival, Gulzar Ahmed Dar of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Sakina Itoo hails from a well-known political family; her father, Wali Mohammad Itoo, was a senior NC leader and former speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, who was assassinated by militants in the 1990s. Following in her father's footsteps, Sakina became a key figure in the NC and has been involved in politics for many years.

She has served as a member of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, representing the Noorabad constituency, and has held several ministerial roles, including as minister for social welfare.

Sakina Itoo is one of the few prominent women leaders in Jammu and Kashmir politics, and she has been recognised for her work in addressing social welfare, women's empowerment, and rural development issues.