Anjum Rahman, a Kiwi-Indian, who moved to New Zealand in 1972, at the age of six with her family from Azamgarh in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, has been shortlisted for 2020 New Zealander of the Year. She is among the eight women, of the total ten people, in the list. The award “honours someone who, through their inspiration and leadership, contributes to the wellbeing of the country”. Three finalists will be announced on January 27.
Talking to this newspaper, Rahman noted, “We still have our extended family in India, and we used to visit India often, mainly Aligarh, when we were children.”
About Anjum Rahman
Anjum Rahman was involved in the establishment of the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand in 1990, and became its first secretary. She has been a Board member for the Shama Hamilton Ethnic Women’s Centre, Waikato Community Broadcasting Charitable Trust and Ethnic New Zealand Trust. She was a founding member of the anti-rape Campaign for Consent Hamilton in 2013, and a qualified Human Rights Commission facilitator. She wrote for feminist blog The Hand Mirror and campaigned against sexual violence. She stood for Hamilton City Council in 2013 and was a Labour Party list candidate in 2005, 2008 and 2014. Recently Anjum has been a spokesperson for the Muslim community on the 2019 terrorist attacks. In 2019 she launched the Inclusive Aotearoa Collective – a community led initiative set up to combat discrimination. Early this year, she was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to ethnic communities and women.
(source: nzhistory.govt.nz)
-Gaurav Sharma