Rabina Khan

Rabina Khan ( bn, রবিনা খান; born 15 September 1972) is a Bangladeshi-born British writer, politician, former councillor for Shadwell and Cabinet Member for Housing in Tower Hamlets Council, community worker and author of ''Ayesha's Rainbow''. In 2015, she unsuccessfully contested the Tower Hamlets Mayoral Election. She was the leader of the People's Alliance of Tower Hamlets, but joined the Liberal Democrats on 29 August 2018.

Early life

Khan's father worked as a machine operator at Chatham Dockyards in Kent; he returned to Bangladesh to get married. Khan was born in Sylhet District, Bangladesh, and moved to England with her mother at the age of three. Khan grew up in Rochester, Kent. She is the eldest of five siblings, and has one brother and three sisters.

In 1992, at the age of 19, after completing her A-levels, Khan had an arranged marriage with trainee teacher, Aminur Rashid Khan (born 1968), and moved to Tower Hamlets, London. At around the age of 22, Khan began wearing a hijab.

Community work

In 1991, Khan's first job was securing work experience placements for secondary school pupils. Khan has since worked as a community regeneration worker in the Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. She has worked for Tower Hamlets Council in the social and education sectors, and for government regeneration initiatives such as Bethnal Green City Challenge managing education and empowerment projects for women and young girls from ethnic minority communities. She has also been involved in community initiatives in Tower Hamlets.

In October 2012, Khan contributed on BBC Radio 4's ''Four Thought'' in a discussion about "redefining multiculturalism".

Writing career

In 2003, Khan's first novel ''Rainbow Hands'' was published. This was followed by a short story ''If Birds Could Fly'', which was published in Channel 4's ''TN4 Magazine''. In September 2006, her second novel ''Ayesha's Rainbow'' was published. ''Ayesha's Rainbow'' is a children's novel, which tells the story of a seven-year-old Bangladeshi girl growing up in London's East End who befriends an elderly white neighbour. The story explores racism, prejudice and stereotyping that young Muslims experience in Britain. It is partly autobiographical, based on Khan's own experiences growing up in Britain in the 1980s and 1990s, and working as a community safety officer in the Isle of Dogs when British National Party candidate, Derek Beackon, was elected as a councillor in September 1993.

Khan was awarded a place on the Royal Literary Fund Mentoring Scheme and asked to take part in the 2004 and 2005 Spitafields Women's Literary Festival.

In June 2005, Khan co-founded Monsoon Press with Rekha Waheed.

She has also been involved in editing the anthologies ''Silent Voices'' and ''Behind the Hijab''. From January 2006 to January 2008, Khan was writer in residence at Central Foundation Girls' School, where she developed 'Exploring the Unthinkable', a project that explored equalities and diversity issues using creative writing and the arts.

Khan has worked as a freelance creative consultant for the BBC
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