Senator Fatima Payman first won office in 2022 and dominated headlines this year when she crossed the floor over Labor’s refusal to recognise a Palestinian state. Her life since then has been a self-described “whirlwind.”

Fatima now sits as an independent, and in this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, she reveals the inner workings of the Albanese government that led to her resignation and whether she was prepared for the wave of bigotry and intense scrutiny she and her family experienced.

Her story begins in Afghanistan in the 1990s where she and her family fled the Taliban to Pakistan, before starting a new life in Australia. As a proud and determined independent voice for Western Australia, Fatima is committed to breaking stereotypes, saying she is “more than a Muslim senator.”

Weekend List

TO BUY: Sticky grippy phone stickers
TO DO: Bye-bye text messages and hello voice memos!
TO TRY: Korean skincare
TO WATCH: Fatima Payman on Australian Story

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Fatima Payman on love, scandal and fleeing the Taliban