By Famidah Mundir-Dirampaten
When Fatima Payman took her oath in the Australian Senate in 2022, she did more than enter public office—she stepped into history. The first hijab-wearing Muslim woman in federal parliament, reshaping the face of national politics. As her hijab caught the chamber’s light, it spoke volumes. A quiet affirmation of identity, conviction, and belonging in a space where such presence had long been missing.
The timing was symbolic. Her victory came on World Refugee Day, it marked a profound milestone for a young woman who had once arrived in Australia as the daughter of Afghan refugees.
For many young Australians, especially from migrant and Muslim backgrounds, her story resonates as a quiet but powerful affirmation: You belong, You always have.
Roots and Rise
Born in Kabul and raised in Perth’s northern suburbs, Payman’s political instincts were shaped by her father, who worked as a taxi driver and kitchen hand to support his family. He died before witnessing his daughter’s swearing-in, but his values live on in her politics: grounded, community-driven, and unapologetically principled.
Before Parliament, she organized for the United Workers Union, where she fought for the rights of the very people whose labor often goes unseen—cleaners, kitchen hands, and essential workers like her father.
Her election was no accident. It was the result of grassroots labor, lived experience, and principled politics. Her win wasn’t just personal, it was a breakthrough for those long excluded from Australia’s political imagination.
A Platform for Progress
Since taking office, Payman has championed policies rooted in equity and justice: affordable housing, quality education, workers’ rights, and a country that sees diversity not as a threat but as a national strength.
“Let us not settle on multiculturalism being just a brand…but rather fully embrace it,” she said during her first Senate speech.
Her voice speaks directly to young Australians often pressured to dilute who they are. She reminds them that visibility and authenticity are not obstacles to leadership. They are its foundation. In a political climate where Muslim identity is often politicized, her hijab is not a gesture of defiance, but of principle. Not a token, but a message. Her presence in Parliament shifts the narrative. Not simply about Muslims, but with Muslims at the table, co-shaping the nation’s future.
The Hijab as a Statement of Strength
Wearing the hijab in Parliament was both deeply personal and undeniably public. She anticipated scrutiny and met it with clarity:
More than self-defence, this declaration was a broader rebuttal of the stereotypes and prejudices that often surround Muslim women. In a world that often demands assimilation, Payman’s full, visible presence is itself a radical act. Her leadership challenges outdated ideas of who gets to lead and how they must look to do it.
Legacy in the Making
Though early in her political career, Fatima Payman has already exemplified what it means to be a changemaker in today’s world — breaking ceilings and opening doors.
Payman made headlines across the country when she broke with her party over one of the most contested issues in global politics: Palestine. In a move that stunned the political establishment, she crossed the floor to support a Senate motion recognizing Palestinian statehood. The Labor caucus suspended her. Days later, she resigned. The cost was high but the silence would’ve cost more.
“My family did not flee a war-torn country to come here as refugees for me to remain silent when I see atrocities inflicted on innocent people,” she said in a public statement.
This was not political posturing. It was a moral line. In choosing principle over party, Payman made clear that she was never there to decorate the institution. She was there to challenge it.
“I was not elected as a token representative of diversity,” she declared, “I was elected to serve the people of Western Australia and uphold the values instilled in me by my late father.”
Now serving as an independent senator, Payman has emerged as one of the most distinctive political figures in Australia: young, visibly Muslim, and unafraid to speak her truth.
She advocates for a broader, more inclusive Australian identity—one that doesn’t ask its minorities to trade their roots for representation. Her politics resonate with those weary of symbolic inclusion.
In the span of few years, Payman has evolved from a symbol of diversity to a disruptor of political norms. She has become a new archetype: not the quiet token, but the visible, principled, and fiercely independent voice willing to stake everything on integrity.
As we mark International Muslim History Month, it’s natural to look back—from scholars and poets to scientists and activists. But history isn’t always something we inherit. Sometimes, it’s something we watch unfold—in real time, on the Senate floor, beneath the steady gaze of a young woman in hijab.
Fatima Payman’s story is more than a political milestone. It’s a living testament to what becomes possible when representation meets conviction. Her journey invites us a different kind of politics: one shaped not by conformity, but by courage; not by tokenism, but by truth.
Fatima Payman is not simply part of history. She is, undeniably, making it.
About the Author
Famidah Dirampaten is the Assistant Editor for the World Hijab Day Organization (WHDO). She took up MA in Religious Studies with concentrations in Interfaith Peacebuilding and Nonprofit Leadership at the HJ International Graduate School for Peace & Public Leadership (formerly Unification Theological Seminary) in New York. Instagram@famidz
