Shiria Khatun - Tower Hamlets councillor

Shiria has been involved in politics and campaigning from an early age. She remembers being aged 11 years when one of her neighbours asked if she could write a letter on his behalf to the British Embassy in Bangladesh. He had applied for entry clearance to bring his wife and young child to the UK but was refused and was then at the appeals stage.

Shiria takes up the story:

A few weeks later the neighbour came to our house waving a letter in his hand with tears in his eyes and said to my father, “thanks to the letter your daughter wrote for me, my wife had another interview with the British Embassy and now they are coming to the UK.”

To help her cope with the demands of life as a councillor, Shiria gets support from her husband (who she describes as "my rock") as well as from relatives and neighbours e.g. during Eid or other festivals her neighbours often help out with the extra cooking.

Politics is really in the blood: Shiria has a young family and her son was a school councillor 2 years ago and her daughter is a class rep. She also works full-time but has flexible working times e.g. she starts early and finishes early which gives her time for her council duties.

Shiria adds:

One of the things she's proudest of is a successful campaign, along with others, for a DLR Station in her ward.

The estate where Shiria lives, East India and Lansbury Estate, is named after Labour local and national party leader George Lansbury, who she cites as one of her inspirations, along with Ken Livingstone.