Pakistani-born Mehreen Saeed Faruqi is the first Muslim woman to be elected to parliament in Australia. In 1992, she migrated to Australia with husband and son and earned a PhD in Environmental Engineering.

In 2013, Dr Faruqi was elected as a Greens Party MP in the New South Wales (NSW) Legislative Council. She has recently been in the news for her project ‘Love Letters to Mehreen’ which uses humour to fight back the barrage of abuse sent her way by Internet trolls. Dawn caught up with Dr Faruqi at a recent conference in Islamabad.

Q: How did you become interested in pursuing a career in politics?

A: I think of politics as more of a public service and a calling rather than a career. I had a wonderful 25-year career as a civil and environmental engineer working in a variety of roles, including consultancy, academia and local government management. But like most Pakistanis, cricket and politics were always a part of my life growing up in Lahore and my journey to New South Wales parliament was organic.

After migrating to Australia in 1992 with my husband, one-year old son and two suitcases, it took many years to find jobs, complete my masters and PhD before I could turn my mind to any involvement in politics and grassroots campaigning. I joined the Greens in 2004 mainly because of their strong policies on fair and just treatment of refugees, support for multiculturalism and equality as well as public education and climate change.

In my first election campaign as a Greens candidate in 2011, my team and I knocked on hundreds of doors talking to people about issues that mattered to them. It made me realise I had a passion for making a difference through the political process. Although it is always daunting to cold call and knock on a door, I love the direct face-to-face connection. I found out that most people are respectful. I had a couple of doors shut in my face but was also invited in for tea and someone even gave me a plant to take home.

Q: As a member of the Greens party and an ardent environmentalist, do you think there is enough debate around environmental issues in Pakistan? What are some the issues which should be raised?

A: I have lived and breathed the ‘environment’ for at least two and half decades. My journey started in Sydney where I was swept along by the promise and excitement of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which was historic in sending us down the path of ecologically sustainable development.

However, the planet remains under immense pressure from development, land clearing and climate change and all nations must act urgently. Moving to a low carbon economy must be at the top of our agendas but protecting green spaces, wildlife and biodiversity should be prioritised.

Pakistan has a unique environment but is also struggling with water and energy security at the moment. Innovative solutions to address these issues and climate change go hand in hand and can provide immense opportunities for the people of Pakistan, for example, in renewable energy. Prosperous countries like Australia, though, must play a role demonstrating leadership in this area and also helping developing nations to move to renewable energy and reducing reliance on coal and fossil fuels as an energy source.

Q: What were some of the challenges you faced as the first Muslim woman to be elected to parliament in Australia? And what was the idea behind your project ‘Love Letters to Mehreen’?

A: Australian parliaments do not represent the diversity, both gender and cultural, in contemporary Australian society. Political parties of all stripes need to do much more to address this imbalance. Better engagement with ethnically diverse communities and providing opportunities for involvement in the political process could be a good start. I also find that in the four years I have been in parliament there has been a marked rise in Islamophobia which has been challenging.

I started the ‘Love Letters to Mehreen’ project because of the cascade of racist, sexist and Islamophobic abuse I was receiving over the Internet. While I am not the only one being targeted by online abuse, I could not ignore such bigotry and allow the perpetrators to get away with it. I thought to myself, I can either laugh or cry, so I chose to laugh. I pick a particularly toxic message I’ve received and use social media to respond to it in a humorous way. Sometimes, humour can be a good way of dealing with very serious issues and the project has really taken off. People are appreciating us for exposing online abuse and of course, it also cathartic for my staff and I. It is often hard for people to believe the amount and type of vile messages I receive.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2017

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