THE CONSERVATIVE MP for Wealden made history after she repeated her oath to the Queen in Urdu when she was sworn into Parliament, the first time this has happened.
Nus Ghani was born in Birmingham to parents from Kashmir, Pakistan. In 2015 she became the first Conservative Muslim woman to be elected to Parliament.
She told the Times: “I first swore allegiance to the Queen in English. I had to ask permission from the speaker and the Clerks of the House if I could also repeat the oath in Urdu.
“My motivation is simple. My parents are incredibly proud that I have been elected to serve as MP and I wanted to honour mother by speaking in a language she understands and my mother tongue.
“I wanted to do it back in 2015 when I first took the oath, but was nervous and overwhelmed by the whole experience.
“I really didn’t expect so much feedback, but am pleased that it has moved other women and men to consider engaging in politics – our Parliament is open to everyone.”
The move was welcomed by Tonbridge and Malling MP, Tom Tugendhat, who tweeted: “I’m so proud of Nus Ghani, a great patriot and great MP. Our country has room for all languages, they enrich us and help us know our world.”
Urdu is spoken by roughly 100million people and is the official language of Pakistan. It is also used in parts of India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
