Salma Yaqoob is currently in a bid to win the Labour nomination within the West Midlands. She has strong hopes of taking the title from Andy Street, the current Mayor of the county. Yaqoob will run against MPs Liam Byrne of Hodge Hill and Pete Lowe from Dudley to gain the position.
However, Salma’s political past has caused controversy and criticism in the face of her recent campaign. She has caused great disagreement in her career as she is an outspoken female Muslim, of which has caused upset within different groups, especially from Islamic groups who disagree with her engagement in Western politics. She was a founder of the Stop the War coalition, chaired by Jeremy Corbyn for 4 years, and also co-founded the Respect party. However, Yaqoob was caught up in the backlash from comments made on rape by the party’s George Galloway and consequently stepped down from her position.
Salma Yaqoob has also stirred controversy in her recent running due to rejecting previous Labour overtures. The young politician was offered two different positions, however, she declined them, stating that she could not have made the constituencies any ‘stronger’ and therefore, rather than acting in the interest of personal gain and furthering her career, she turned them down. Now Salma feels she can aid and better the Labour work being done, inspiring her to run.
Salma Yaqoob specifically focuses her political efforts into the problems surrounding racism and the Muslim culture. Speaking on this issue, Yaqoob stated she ‘wished to be invisible’, as she feels personally held accountable for any action any Muslim makes across the world, just because she ‘chooses to wear a headscarf’. She recalled her experiences following the 9/11 attacks, in which she was racially abused and spat at, just a singular example of the ever-growing fear and hatred of Muslims that is developing due to media exaggeration. In light of these experiences, she aims to use her position within authority to reduce any fear and suspicions the public may have.
It is a positive progression for the Labour party to now have a credible female BAME candidate in the running, with a lack of diversity something that Labour has suffered criticism for in the past. The majority of the party is held by white middle-class men, which does not represent the demographic of the West Midlands area, making the party not sufficiently representative. However, this could all change with the forerunner Salma Yaqoob to make a change for the Labour movement and their politics.
Grace Lea
