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55-year-old Mehreen Faruqi is the first Muslim woman to be part of the Australian senate. She was elected on August the 15th as a senator, representing the New South Wales state, reports the Guardian.
On Tuesday and during her inaugural speech, she delivered a strong message, denouncing institutionalized racism in Australia. «I am a brown, Muslim, migrant, feminist woman», she proudly stated.
«The existence of racism, sexism and other discrimination is not new, but what has changed is its legitimization, normalization and encouragement in the media and in politics», she pointed out.
Born in Pakistan, Mehreen Faruqi studied civil engineering in the 80s. She immigrated to Australia in 1992, where she continued her studies at the New South Wales university. She obtained her PhD in environmental engineering in 2001 an joined the Greens party.
