'Making history today': Fatima Payman becomes parliament's first hijab-wearing Muslim woman

On World Refugee Day, the Labor candidate and former refugee took the remaining WA Senate spot in the final election tally.

New WA Senator Fatima Payman

New WA Senator Fatima Payman is an Australian Muslim with cultural roots from Afghanistan. Source: AAP / RICHARD WAINWRIGHT/AAPIMAGE

Fatima Payman has won Western Australia's sixth and final Senate seat, becoming the first Afghan-Australian and the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman in parliament.

A former refugee from Afghanistan, Ms Payman's victory comes on .

She is the state's only new senator, after Labor senators Sue Lines and Glenn Sterle were re-elected, along with Liberal senators Michaelia Cash and Dean Smith.

The final seat is held by Green senator Dorinda Cox who, in 2021, became the first Indigenous woman to represent WA in the Senate.
Taking a seat at the expense of the Liberals, Ms Payman was jubilant after her win on Monday.

"WE WON!!!! I'm proud to announce that I've officially been elected as a Senator for Western Australia," .

"Thank you everyone for your love and support! We did it!"

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was quick to offer his congratulations on Twitter, with a simple "Congratulations Senator Payman".
Ms Payman arrived as a refugee from Afghanistan as a child with her parents and three siblings, before growing up in Perth's northern suburbs.

In her early years, her father worked around the clock as a kitchen hand, a security guard and a taxi driver. Her mother looked after the family before starting her own small business of providing driving lessons.

Inspired by the hard work of her parents when she was younger, Ms Payman became an organiser for the United Workers Union and, after losing her dad to leukaemia in 2018, decided she wanted to represent hard-working Australians like him who strived to make ends meet.

She is passionate about breaking down barriers for women, young people and culturally diverse communities.
Fellow Labor representatives and rights activists were quick to congratulate Ms Payman on Monday.

"I am so proud that our state is sending Fatima to represent us in Canberra," WA MP Patrick Gorman said. "Senator-elect Payman is an Australian Muslim with cultural roots from Afghanistan, the eldest of four children and a strong advocate for workers."
While fellow WA Labor Senator Ms Lines said she was "making history today".
Kon Karapanagiotidis, CEO and founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, described the appointment as "wonderful".

"How wonderful that the last WA Senate seat has been won by Fatima Payman, an Afghan refugee," he tweeted.
The Afghan embassy in Australia said it was pleased to hear the news, particularly on.

"On this we are pleased to hear that Ms Fatima Payman, an Afghan Refugee, now an Australian citizen, has made her path towards the Senate of the @Aust_Parliament. Many congratulations, Senator Fatima Payman!"
And the Australian Islamic College Perth congratulated the new senator on Twitter, accompanied by a video of Ms Payman mentoring a group of Muslim students.

Labor picking up a third seat in WA takes its numbers to 26, requiring one minor party or independent vote on top of the Greens' 12 votes to pass legislation in the upper house with 39 votes required.

, who was only sworn into the Senate in February after filling a casual vacancy left by former Senate president Scott Ryan.

Mr Palmer spent upwards of $100 million on his national election campaign, dominating the airwaves and installing bright yellow-themed billboards around the country. The Victorian Senate seat was the mining magnate's sole electoral success.

The Liberals' Sarah Henderson, the Nationals' Bridget McKenzie, Labor's Linda White and Jana Stewart, and the Greens' Lidia Thorpe were also elected in Victoria.

The Australian Electoral Commission has also declared the NSW senators, with the Greens taking a seat from Labor.

With AAP.

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Published 20 June 2022 3:07pm
Updated 20 June 2022 3:11pm
Source: SBS News


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