3 Bangladeshi-origin women in British parliament

Three Bangladeshi-origin women have been elected lawmakers in the British parliament.

A total of 11 Bangladeshi-origins contested the British general elections held on Thursday,  but Tulip Rezwana Siddiq, Rushnara Ali and Rupa Asha Haque have come out successful.

Tulip Siddiq is granddaughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and niece of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Tulip got 23,977 votes against her Conservative counterpart Simon Marcus’ 22,839 votes in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency.

Bangladeshi origin Rushanara Ali has been elected MP of the British parliament for the second time.

She was re-elected from her Bethnal Green and Bow constituency in East London, by a massive 25,000 majority. She polled 32,387 votes while her nearest rival Conservative candidate polled just 8,070 votes.

Earlier in 2010, she was elected as the first female Muslim MP from the Labour Party with a majority of 11,574 votes.

She is the first person of Bangladeshi

origin to have been elected to the House of Commons.

Bangladesh-born British Rupa Huq has also become lawmaker of UK. She took London’s Ealing Central and Acton seat from the Conservatives.

She polled a total of 22,002 votes while her closest contestant from Conservative Party Angie Bray got 21,728 votes.

In November 2013, Rupa was chosen by Labour Party for the Ealing Central and Acton constituency.

The polls victory of the trio was hailed by the Bangladeshis at home and abroad.

In instant reaction, Tulip told reporters that she got astonished with the polls results. “If people question as to who is the MP in my area, I can reply I am.” Tulip expressed her gratitude to her aunt Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for learning various aspects of politics and electioneering.

Glenda May Jackson, a British Labour Party politician and former actress, first became a MP in 1992. She represented Hampstead and Kilburn until 2015. But Tulip was chosen by the party for the 2015 general election.

Tulip was born at Mitcham at London in the United Kingdom on September 16, 1982. She passed her childhood in Bangladesh, India and Singapore.  She started to live in Hampstead and Kilburn at the age of 16. She had her schooling here. She obtained post graduation in politics, policy and government from King’s College London.

Rushanara Ali hails from Sylhet. She migrated to the UK along with her parents at the age of seven. Her nick name is Swapna. She obtained degree in politics, economics and philosophy from the Oxford University.

On the other hand, parents of Rupa Huq went to the UK in 1960. Her ancestral home is located at Mirpur village at Jagannatpur upazila under Sunamganj.  She was born at Hammersmith at London  on April 2, 1972.

She adopted teaching career in 1998, when she moved to Manchester. From 1998 to 2004, she was a lecturer at the University of Manchester. She served as a senior lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at Kingston University in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She also teaches Media and Cultural Studies.

Rupa Huq has a column in Tribune, and regularly contributes to The Guardian, New Statesman, Progress magazine and The Times Higher Education Supplement.

UNB adds: President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday congratulated Tulip Siddiq, granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Rupa Huq and Rushanara Ali for winning the British parliamentary elections.

“The President said that their victory has brightened the image of the British-Bangladeshis,” President’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim told the news agency.

He also wished their success in discharging their responsibilities as Members of British Parliament.

In a congratulatory message, Sheikh Hasina said the victory of three British Bangladeshis has glorified the participation of migrant Bangladeshis in British politics, said PM’s Special Assistance Mahbubul Hoque Shakil.

The premier also expressed gratitude to those who worked hard for the victory of Tulip and those who supported her at home and abroad and helped her win the UK parliamentary polls.

A beaming Sheikh Hasina, the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu, also congratulated her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, the mother of Tulip.