Biography
Born in Bishwanath, Sylhet, on 14 March 1975, Rushanara Ali emigrated to East London with her family at the age of seven, settling in Tower Hamlets. She studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at St John's College, Oxford, and worked in community policy and social enterprise before entering politics. In May 2010 she was elected MP for Bethnal Green and Bow , the first person of Bangladeshi heritage to serve in the House of Commons , with a majority of 11,574 votes. Her election was the defining political milestone for a community that had spent decades fighting for the right to be here, to be safe, and to be heard.