Sunjeev 'Sonia' Kaur Birdi is a nominated member of the

Kenyan Parliament The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013 ( 11th Parliament), it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablis ...

. She was the first

Kenyan Asian Indians in Kenya, often known as Kenyan Asians, are citizens and residents of Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital ...

woman to serve in the national legislature."Meet the first Asian-Kenyan Woman Lawmaker"
''Daily Nation'' (January 27, 2015).

Early life and education

Sonia Birdi was born in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

to a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

family of

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

heritage, the daughter of Surinder and Kuljiridei Birdi. She attended a convent school, and a college in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

for her undergraduate degree. She earned a master's degree in business administration from

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. From 1998 to 2005 she worked as a journalist reporting for Radio Africa's East FM.

Political career

Birdi entered politics as a response to the suffering she saw while doing relief work in the aftermath of the Sinai oil fire at Mukuru kwa Njenga in 2011. Birdi has taken part in various activities in her capacity as a member of parliament. She was at the Women In Parliament Global Forum in Brussels, taking part in the African Women's Communication and Development Network (FEMNET) walk for the

Bring Back Our Girls On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. ...

campaign following the Nigerian schoolgirls' kidnapping by

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...

. She also attended the inauguration of Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

, and had the opportunity to discuss Kenya–India relations with the BJP. Birdi sponsored a motion in Parliament, for the government to build dams countrywide for conservation of the environment and

ecosystem management Ecosystem management is an approach to natural resource management that aims to ensure the long-term sustainability and persistence of an ecosystems function and ecosystem service, services while meeting socioeconomic, political, and cultural need ...

in order to reduce

environmental degradation Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; an ...

. She has also spoken on road safety measures, urging the Transport Safety Authority to take stricter measures on public transport safety. In 2016 she advocated for clearing Kenya's backlog of immigration applications, saying "Failure to issue applicants with citizenship has violated their rights, equality and freedom from discrimination." In 2015, she and fellow MP Alfred Keter were charged with creating a public disturbance and abusing their power, after an incident at the Gilgil weighbridge, involving a truck belonging to her father's company. The two said that they were confronting corrupt officials at the weighbridge.Uncle Chim Tuna
"MP Alfred Keter And Sonia Birdi Of The 'Matafaka Fame' Have Their Day In Court For Allegedly Abusing Their Power"
''Mpasho'' (21 May 2015).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birdi Living people United Republican Party (Kenya) politicians Members of the 11th Parliament of Kenya Kenyan politicians of Indian descent 21st-century Kenyan women politicians 21st-century Kenyan politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Kenyan people of Punjabi descent Kenyan Sikhs Kenyan radio journalists Politicians from Nairobi Kenyan women radio journalists