Fatima Payman
Australian politician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fatima Payman (Dari: فاطمه پیمان; born 1995)[2] is an Australian politician who has served as a senator for Western Australia since 2022.
Fatima Payman | |
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Senator for Western Australia | |
Assumed office 1 July 2022 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1995 (age 28–29)[1] Kabul, First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan |
Citizenship | Australia (2005–) Afghanistan (de jure, see § 2022 election) |
Political party | Labor (until 2024) Independent (since 2024) |
Alma mater | University of Western Australia |
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Payman was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and lived for three years in Pakistan before migrating to Perth with her family in 2003. She attended the Australian Islamic College and studied pharmacy at university. Payman was president of Young Labor WA and an organiser for the United Workers Union, before becoming an electorate officer for West Australian Labor politician Pierre Yang. At the 2022 Australian federal election, Payman was elected to the Australian Senate as a senator for Western Australia.
She was the third-youngest member to have been elected to the Senate and the first Muslim member of parliament to wear a hijab.[3][4][5]
In May and June of 2024, Payman's statements in support of Palestine during the Israel–Hamas war and criticism of the Albanese government's response to the war brought her out of step with the rest of the government. On 25 June 2024, Payman crossed the floor to support an Australian Greens resolution to recognise a Palestinian state, leading to her being indefinitely suspended from the Labor caucus. On 4 July 2024, Payman was indefinetely suspended from the Labor Party and sits now as an independent.