Five Questions with Mehreen Faruqi
You are part of Broadside, on a panel titled ‘Broadside: Things My Mother Never Told Me’. What’s one thing your Mother did tell you, that you’ve kept with you, to become the person you are today?
My mum showed me the most important thing is having a heart. She used to tell me “you only need room in your heart” when I would whinge about the constant visitors and guests to our house when I was growing up. She was just overwhelmingly welcoming and generous like that. I do my best to approach every day with her spirit of openness and empathy.
You do the real work: for instance, introducing the first ever bill to decriminalise abortion while an MP in New South Wales Parliament. What drives you? What keeps your fire burning?
I’ve changed paths, jobs and careers many times in my life. The one thing that has remained constant is my strong sense of justice and the need to create change for the better, a sense that was ingrained in me by my elders in Pakistan. As a Senator, I have the privilege of meeting so many people working day in and day out protecting animals, our climate and environment, and our human rights, often without recognition. It is their fire and determination that keeps me going.
As someone who is at the coalface, what do you do for self-care?
To be honest, my mum and my husband are my rocks. My mum lives overseas but I talk to her almost every day. My husband’s glass is always half full. He’s supported and encouraged me through thick and thin. I also absolutely love cuddling up to my rescue greyhound, Cosmo, and cooking a vegetarian feast for friends and family whenever I can.
We love your ‘Love Letters to Mehreen’ series. Can you speak to the impetus behind responding to trolls in the medium of memes?
Many people don’t realise the amount of racist and sexist abuse thrown at a woman of colour in public life whether it be online, via email, handwritten letters or over the phone. Like I said in my first speech to the Senate, there are some people in Australia who are offended that people of colour and Muslims have the audacity to not only exist, but to open our mouths and join the public debate.
The Love Letters to Mehreen project is about taking back some control and exposing what is a daily occurrence for me and my staff. It is also about sending a loud and clear message that we won’t sit back and suffer in silence.
What are you currently reading?
I usually have a big pile of books beside my bed. I think it’s seven books deep at the moment. The top three are ‘See What You Made Me Do’ by Jess Hill, which investigates the domestic abuse epidemic in Australia, Ruby Hamad’s ‘White Tears, Brown Scars’ and, on a lighter note, Kitty Flanagan's ‘488 Rules for Life’. I love rule 228 – it's in the special sealed section for mums and is just so true.
