Safiya Wazir (; born 1991) is an Afghan-American community activist and politician. She served as a Democratic member of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

. Wazir is the first former refugee to serve in the New Hampshire State House.

Early life and education

Wazir and her family lived in

Baghlan Province Baghlan (Dari: ''Baġlān'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. As of 2020, the province has a population of about 1,014,634. Its capital is Puli Khumri, but its name comes from the other majo ...

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 ...

prior to

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

rule. Her family left during her childhood, and they spent ten years in

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

before immigrating to

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

. She knew little English upon her arrival and studied the dictionary to learn. Her family was unable to communicate in English shortly after their arrival but received assistance from a Lutheran organization and often ate only rice. She was forced to restart her secondary school education and thus graduated from high school at age 20. She enrolled in the

New Hampshire Technical Institute New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, where she took night classes so she could support her family. She graduated from the community college with a degree in business. Upon her parents' insistence, she returned to Afghanistan for an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

, and together with her spouse she returned to Concord.

Career

Wazir began working within the Heights community of Concord; becoming a director of its Community Action Program and a vice-chairwoman of its Head Start Policy Council. In February 2018, Wazir's friend suggested that she run for office, although Wazir refused the request until her partner and parents agreed to support her children. In September 2018, she beat Dick Patten to win the Democratic primary for a seat in the legislature of New Hampshire. Shortly thereafter, Wazir became the first refugee to be elected to New Hampshire's state house. The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

listed Wazir on their list of ''100 Women'' in 2018.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wazir, Safiya 1991 births Living people Activists from New Hampshire Afghan women activists Afghan refugees Afghan emigrants to the United States American politicians of Arab descent 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Asian-American people in New Hampshire politics Women state legislators in New Hampshire BBC 100 Women People from Baghlan Province Refugees in the United States American community activists