First Muslim Woman Appointed To The Australian Senate

At a time when Australia is embroiled in a bitter row over racism, Pakistan-born Mehreen Farooqi became the first Muslim woman to be appointed to Australian senate. The Green Party member parliament for New South Wales was selected to fill a vacant seat. Following the win, a confident Mehreen told BBC that she would use her role to push a "positive future for Australia where we are stronger for our diversity". Mehreen built a life in Australia after migrating from Pakistan in 1992. An academic by profession, she also has a PhD degree in environmental engineering. This is second milestone for Pakistan-born politician-- for she was also the first Muslim woman to hold a political office after being elected to state parliament in 2013. In her speech in NSW parliament, Farooqi recalled enduring racist and sexist trolling during her tenure as MP" not because of what I am doing but because of who I am, where I come from and color of my skin". She has also been critical of Fraser Anning's use of Holocaust associated term in the parliament.