Pak teacher’s daughter elected to London Assembly

LONDON: A Pakistani school teacher’s daughter has made history by becoming the first-ever Muslim Pakistani female elected member of the London Assembly in what is being seen as a great moment of breaking the barriers.

Hina Bokhari’s election as London Assembly member on the platform of Liberal Democrats is also very significant as her father Syed Naz Bokhari, originally from Lahore, was London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s teacher and Britain’s first Muslim Headteacher who inspired a whole generation of Pakistani and minority children to join politics.

Speaking to The News and Geo, Hina Bokhari said her relatives from Pakistan have been calling her to offer congratulations and to express their pride. “My relatives from Islamabad to Lahore to Karachi have been calling me over my election win. I feel a great deal of pride in the fact that I am first-ever Muslim, Pakistani heritage woman to reach the London Assembly. This is a great moment for Pakistani and ethnic minority women. This has to happen.”

The London assembly comprises 25 elected members and they audit the work and activities of the mayor. The London Assembly is also responsible for amending the annual budget for Greater London and rejecting or accepting projects in the city. Hina Bokhari, 45, was first Muslim woman elected as a Merton Council councilor in 2018 local bodies elections. She has been working as a primary school teacher for 20 years. She took time off from her teaching job to focus on her new demanding role. Hina Bokhari’s father taught at a school in Tooting where Sadiq Khan was a pupil.