Shaheed Benazirabad District (, ) previously known as Nawabshah District, is one of the districts in the province of Sindh, Pakistan.
Renaming
The district was renamed in September 2008 when most of MPAs of Nawabshah demanded the district be renamed to honour the late party leader.
The renaming of the district was criticised by the family of Syed Nawabshah and others who, while saddened at the death of Bhutto, felt that Nawabshah was a historic district and ought to have kept its name.
History
At the establishment of the district in 1 November 1912, seven talukas were included in this district: Kandiaro Naushero Feroze Moro Sakrand Nawabshah Sinjhoro Shahdadpur
The district was divided into two Sub-divisions, namely Nawabshah Sub-division and Naushahro Feroze Sub-division. The former comprised the three talukas Shahdadpur, Sinjhoro and Nawabshah, while the later comprise the four talukas of Kandiaro, Naushahro Feroze, Moro and Sakrand.
In 1953 the talukas of Shahdadpur and Sinjhoro became part of the newly established Sanghar District. This left Nawabshah Sub-division with only one taluka, so Sakrand taluka was moved from Naushahro Feroze Sub-division to Nawabshah Sub-division. In 1989, another part of the district, the talukas of Nausehro Feroz, Kandiaro and half of the taluka of Moro, was cleaved from it to form the new Naushahro Feroze District. A new taluka, Daulatpur, was created, from half of the Moro and some of Sakrand taluka in Nawabshah district. The district then contained three talukas: Nawabshah Sakrand Daulatpur
In 2005, after the local government election, a new taluka named Daur was cleaved from Nawabshah taluka and Daulatpur taluka renamed to Kazi Ahmed.
The district then comprised four talukas: Nawabshah Sakrand Daulatpur (now Kazi Ahmed) Daur
In May 2014, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck the district, killing one person and injuring 70.
Administrative
Shaheed Benazir Abad formerly Nawabshah District. The Deputy Commissioner is responsible for overall administration of the district. Miss Kanwal Nizam Shaikh is currently the Deputy Commissioner of Shaheed Benazirabad since May 2023. She is the first female officer in history of Shaheed Benazirabad to serve as DC. The district is sub-divided into four Tehsils:
Sakrand
Nawabshah
Qazi Ahmed
Daur
Demographics
At the time of the 2017 census, Shaheed Benazirabad district had a population of 1,613,506, of which 833,235 were males and 780,089 females. The rural population was 1,123,696 (69.64%) and urban 489,810 (30.36%). The literacy rate is 46.86%: 59.42% for males and 33.85% for females.
The majority religion is Islam, with 95.82% of the population. Hinduism (including those from Scheduled Castes) is practiced by 3.86% of the population.
At the time of the 2017 census, 82.70% of the population spoke Sindhi, 6.86% Urdu, 5.61% Punjabi, 1.57% Brahui and 1.40% Balochi as their first language.
Education
District Shaheed Benazirabad is ranked at the 125th position in the education score index of the Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017 published by Alif Ailaan.
Low learning outcome issues remain a hindrance for district Shaheed Benazirabad. Issues reported by the residents via the Taleem Do! App complain of the lack of primary schools in the area. The debate on whether basic education should be provided in the regional, national or official languages has been a point of debate in Pakistan for several years.
Events
The H. M. Khoja Annual Flower Show was introduced by H. M. Khoja in 1954 at Khoja Garden. The celebrations take place for three or four days.