Mariam Veiszadeh is an Afghan-born Australian lawyer and writer known for her anti-racism campaigns.

Early life and education

Veiszadeh was born in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in 1984. In 1988, when Veiszadeh was four years old, her family fled Afghanistan during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...

. Her family arrived in Australia in 1944 via India, the Czech Republic, and Germany, and were granted asylum in 1991 under the Refugee and Special Humanitarian Program. Veiszadeh earned a dual Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor Economics degree from

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

Advocacy

She is the founder and former president of Islamophobia Register Australia, which describes itself as "a secure and reliable service that allows people from across Australia to report any form of Anti-Muslim abuse", and an official Ambassador for Welcome to Australia and Participate Australia. Veiszadeh sits on the board of

Our Watch Our Watch, formerly Foundation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children, is an Australian organisation that exists to help prevent violence against women and their children. Founded in mid-2013 with Natasha Stott Despoja as founding ...

, a national organisation established to drive nationwide change in the culture, behaviours and power imbalances that lead to violence against women and their children. A member of the Australian Muslim community, she has been described as a "typically assertive Australian woman" by

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

Recognition

Veiszadeh was named 2016 Fairfax Daily Life Woman of the Year and was selected by ''Elle Magazine Malaysia'' as one of 12 women who were helping to "change the world" for International Women's Day 2015, alongside Michelle Obama and

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

. In Australia,

GetUp! GetUp! is an independent Progressivism, progressive Australian political activism, political activist group. It was launched in August 2005 to encourage Internet activism in Australia, though it has increasingly engaged in Community organizing, ...

, an independent community advocacy organisation, featured her with

Rosie Batty Rosemary Anne "Rosie" Batty (born 1962) is an English-born Australian domestic violence campaigner. She became a campaigner in 2014, after her 11-year-old son Luke Batty was murdered by his father, Greg Anderson. She was made Australian of the Y ...

, 2015 Australian of the Year, for 'making it happen'. Veiszadeh was also featured in ''Elle Magazine Australia'' for their #WeAreWomen campaign and was a finalist in the Daily Life Women of the Year Awards as well as being awarded

Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, known simply as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, ...

's 'Woman of Influence' Award in 2015. In December 2015, Veiszadeh was awarded the "Role Model of the Year" and "Woman of the Year" at the 9th

Australian Muslim Achievement Awards Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Trolling campaign

Veiszadeh became a victim of Joshua Ryne Goldberg, who was later convicted by the U.S. Government of attempting a bombing on the 14th anniversary of 9/11. Goldberg posted to ''

The Daily Stormer ''The Daily Stormer'' is an American far-right, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, misogynist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, and Holocaust denial commentary and message board website that advocates for a second genocide of Jews. It is part of the al ...

,'' a neo-Nazi website, under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Michael Slay", and contributed to feminist blog Feministing under the pseudonym "Tanya Cohen". He promoted an illusory friendship between ''Australi Witness'' (his pro-

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

Twitter account) and Veiszadeh, with the objective of smearing Veiszadeh's reputation. Under the name "Michael Slay", Goldberg wrote the majority of articles on ''

'' criticising Veiszadeh, including the initial piece criticising her stance on a shirt, sold by Woolworths, that read 'If You Don't Love It Leave'. Upon learning the true identity of the writer, website owner

Andrew Anglin Andrew Barret Anglin (born July 27, 1984) is an American neo-Nazi and conspiracy theorist, and editor of the website ''The Daily Stormer''. Through this website, Anglin uses elements of Nazism combined with Internet memes originating from 4cha ...

removed all content by Goldberg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veiszadeh, Mariam Australian Muslim activists Australian women lawyers Living people Afghan refugees Afghan emigrants to Australia People from Kabul 1984 births Naturalised citizens of Australia Western Sydney University alumni