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Yassmin Abdel-Magied

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Yassmin Abdel-Magied (born 3 March 1991 Khartoum) is a Sudanese-Australian mechanical engineer [2] based in London, England.[3] Abdel-Magied is also known as a Muslim activist [4][5][6] and memoirist. [7][8]

Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Abdel-Magied in 2016
Born (1991-03-03) 3 March 1991 (age 33)
Khartoum, Sudan
NationalitySudanese Australian (Dual)[1]
BildungBachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours)
Alma materUniversity of Queensland
OccupationMechanical engineer

Education and early career

Childhood schooling

As an infant in 1992, Abdel-Magied migrated to Brisbane Australia from Sudan with her parents, after an Islamic military coup toppled the democratically elected government during the Second Sudanese Civil War.[9][10] According to her autobiography, Abdel-Magied attended primary school at the Islamic College of Brisbane [11] and the independent Christian high school John Paul College (Brisbane), at which there was no policy against wearing a hijab.[12]

Youth Without Borders

As high school students in 2007, Abdel-Magied and two others founded Youth Without Borders in Australia.[13] Yassmin was subsequently named 2007 Young Australian Muslim of the Year [14] and continued as chairperson of Youth Without Borders until 2016.[15][13] In the intervening years, Abdel-Magied participated in various youth groups and committees. She was named 2010 Young Queenslander of the Year [16] and 2015 Queensland Young Australian of the Year.[17] 'Youth Without Borders' is not to be confused with its namesake, a social project formed by Chilean students in 2003.

Mechanical engineering

In 2011, Yassmin Abdel-Magied graduated with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of Queensland.[18] From 2012 until 2016, she worked for multinational engineering companies based in Australia.[19][20][21]

Publications

As a youth, Abdel-Magied wrote a journal article about working on a remote oil rig, and released a memoir about growing up as a "brown Muslim girl".

  • 2013 On the rigs in the Griffith Review [22]
  • 2016 Yassmin's Story: Who Do You Think I Am? (Penguin Random House, Australia) ISBN 978-0857986153[23]

Australian-Arab Relations

After Abdel-Magied was named Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2015, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop appointed her to the Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR).[24] In late 2016, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) (DFAT) sent Abdel-Magied, as a CAAR board member, to the Middle East to promote Australia. Abdel-Magied visited Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, Jordan, Ramallah, Cairo and Sudan. Attorney-General of Australia George Brandis explained the purpose, rationale and cost of the tour, upon being grilled by One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts: "Yassmin Abdel-Magied visited a number of countries in the Middle East to promote Australia as an open, innovative, democratic and diverse nation. She met youth representatives, scientists, entrepreneurs, women's groups and others. The visit also promoted female participation in male dominated industries such as the oil and gas sector, and featured targeted engagements with young women considering careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths."[25] On 9 August 2017, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop announced that Abdel-Magied had been replaced on the board of the Council for Australian-Arab Relations.[26]

Media appearances

In Australia, Abdel-Magied has made media appearances as a public speaker, [27][28][29] radio podcaster, and television presenter. [30]

Controversies

Sharia law

In June 2016 on the ABC The Drum program, Abdel-Magied said Sharia law, "allows for multiple interpretations... it's about mercy, it's about kindness".[38][39] In February 2017, Abdel-Magied was a panelist on the ABC Q&A program where she was challenged about her views on Sharia law. She said "Islam to me is the most feminist religion. We got equal rights well before the Europeans. We don't take our husbands' last names because we ain't their property."[40] On the same program, Abdel-Magied stated in response to another panelist, Jacqui Lambie, that Sharia law is as simple as "me praying five times day," and that it says in Islam, "you follow the law of the land on which you are on".[40] The comments about feminism and Sharia law caused outrage in some quarters.[41][42]

ANZAC Day

In 2015, Yassmin Abdel-Magied contributed as a member of the Federal ANZAC Centenary Commemoration Youth Working Group.[43] Two years later, on ANZAC Day 25 April 2017, Abdel-Magied posted "LEST.WE.FORGET. (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine...)" on her personal Facebook page. The first three words are used to remember fallen military personnel as a mark of respect on ANZAC Day and other august occasions. Abdel-Magied's words in parentheses were supposedly intended to remind people to also remember refugees held in detention on Manus Island and Nauru, and injustices against Palestinians. The comment was criticised by many on social media as well as Minister for Immigration Peter Dutton. Abdel-Magied deleted the part in parentheses soon after posting it, commenting, "It was brought to my attention that my last post was disrespectful, and for that, I apologise unreservedly".[44] Various Australian Muslim leaders expressed varying views on the controversy, from support to denouncing her remarks as not reflective of the views of all Muslims.[45][46][47]

The following day, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce suggested the ABC should take action against Abdel-Magied.[48] The ABC argued that Abdel-Magied's personal opinions did not represent those of the national broadcaster.[49] One month later, on 24 May 2017, the Saturday morning ABC News [50] Australia Wide human interest television program that Abdel-Magied hosted, was cancelled as part of a sweeping restructure at the ABC. As well as programming changes, as many as two hundred jobs were reportedly being slashed in order to reinvest $50 million a year back into regional and online content.[30]

In April 2017, Senator Eric Abetz formally asked Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to exercise her powers to sack Abdel-Magied from her position on the board of the Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR), which is run by the ­Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, however Bishop declined.[51] In July, Abdel-Magied announced that she would be relocating to London.[52] On 9 August, Julie Bishop announced that Yassmin Abdel-Magied had been replaced on the board of the Council for Australian-Arab Relations.[53]

Remembrance Day

Despite the ANZAC Day outrage in April, Ms Abdel-Magied tweeted a similar post on Remembrance Day,[54] a memorial day observed on 11 November in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

Human Rights Complaint

In February 2018, Abdel-Magied claimed that a racial hatred complaint against her under the Racial Discrimination Act had been dismissed by the Australian Human Rights Commission. [55] A spokesperson for Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane declined to comment.[56]

Personal life

Born in Khartoum in 1991,[57] Yassmin Abdel-Magied holds dual Sudanese-Australian citizenship.[58] Yassmin and her parents moved to Australia as skilled migrants when she was eighteen months old in late 1992.[59][60] They were one of the first Sudanese families in Brisbane.[8][61] Abdel-Magied's father, Midhat Abdel-Magied, [62] completed a PhD in electrical engineering at Imperial College, London[59] but was unable to find work in his profession in Australia, and later studied information technology. Yassmin's mother, Faiza El-Higzi, [63] qualified and worked as an architect in Sudan.[64][65] Faiza now has postgraduate degrees in science, education, project management and international business. [66] Yassmin has a younger brother.[67]

Abdel-Magied was educated in Brisbane Australia at an Islamic primary school, a private Christian high school, and a leading Australian public research university.[68] Yassmin Abdel-Magied identifies "first and foremost" as a Muslim. [69] In her autobiography, Abdel-Magied wrote that she is related to "almost all the big names" in Sudan's capital Khartoum. However, today's families of influence are different, and her own extended family's assets have been sold off, but "the old-money pride and correlating conservative values still remain". [70]

In July 2017, Abdel-Magied announced that she would be relocating to London to partake in what she called the "Aussie rite of passage".[71] In November 2017, Abdel-Magied compared Australia to an 'abusive boyfriend' in her first appearance on Australian television since moving to London.[72]

See also

References

  1. ^ Alana Schetzer (31 January 2017). "Travel ban exemption promised but has the damage to Australia's dual nationals been done?". SBS. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied - IMechE". www.imeche.org. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  3. ^ "'It's a beautiful day for migrating': Yassmin Abdel-Magied leaves Australia for the UK - after branding herself the country's 'most hated Muslim' for her Anzac Day post". Daily Mail Australia. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied writes on being 'model minority'". The Australian. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  5. ^ "'Your ancestors shouldn't have enslaved the world': Muslim activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied hits back at critics of diversity programs and claims they are a result of colonisation". Daily Mail Australia. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Subscribe - theaustralian". www.theaustralian.com.au.
  7. ^ "Preview: Re-thinking Cultural Diversity in the Workplace Whitepaper - Autopia". Autopia. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Yassmin's Story". penguin.com.au. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  9. ^ "MEET: YASSMIN ABDEL-MAGIED". THE PIN. THE PIN. 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Book". Yassmin Abdel-Magied.
  11. ^ Abdel-Magied, Yassmin (2016). "2: Early Days". Yassmin's Story: Who do you Think I am? (Paperback ed.). North Sydney: Penguin Random House. p. 38. ISBN 9780857986153.
  12. ^ Abdel-Magied, Yassmin (2016). "6: High School". Yassmin's Story: Who do you Think I am? (Paperback ed.). North Sydney: Penguin Random House. p. 97. ISBN 9780857986153.
  13. ^ a b "History - Youth Without Borders".
  14. ^ a b c "Yassmin Abdel-Magied". Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, University of Queensland. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  15. ^ "Meet the Board of Directors: Yassmin Abdel-Magied". youthwithoutborders.com.au. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Outstanding Suncorp Queenslanders of the Year revealed". Queensland Government Media Statement. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied". Australian of the Year Awards. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  18. ^ "UQ alumnus awarded Young Australian of the Year for Queensland". Alumni & Community. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  19. ^ Abdel-Magied, Yassmin. "Yassmin Abdel-Magied". LinkedIn. Retrieved 17 May 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  20. ^ Engineers, Institution of Mechanical. "Australian YM Profile- Yassmin Abdel-Magied". nearyou.imeche.org. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  21. ^ https://gradaustralia.com.au/graduate-employers/shell/graduate-stories/yassmin-abdel-magied
  22. ^ "On the Rigs, in Griffith Review, Ed. 40". April 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  23. ^ "Yassmin's Story: Who Do You Think I Am?". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  24. ^ "Council for Australian-Arab Relations Board Members". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 17 February 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  25. ^ "Open Australia: Senate Debates,Thursday, 16 February 2017, Questions without Notice,Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  26. ^ "Muslim activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied AXED from board of Council of Australian-Arab Relations". Daily Mail Australia. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  27. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied ... 2010 Young Queenslander of the Year". Saxton Speakers Bureau. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  28. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied". www.executivespeakers.com. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  29. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied- Guest Keynote & Event Speaker | ICMI". Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  30. ^ a b Carmody, Broede (25 May 2017). "ABC axes Yassmin Abdel-Magied's Australia Wide program". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  31. ^ "Mornings with Zan". 24 October 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  32. ^ "Hack". 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  33. ^ "Life Matters". 1 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  34. ^ "What does my headscarf mean to you?". December 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  35. ^ "Australia Wide".
  36. ^ "Motor Mouth". www.abc.net.au.
  37. ^ "The Truth about Racism". Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  38. ^ Hall, Eleanor (15 June 2016). "The Drum Wednesday June 15". The Drum. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  39. ^ "On Sharia law". The Drum. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  40. ^ a b "Blackouts, Childcare, and Migration". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  41. ^ "'Sack Yassmin': 15k sign online petition".
  42. ^ Thousands call for ABC to sack TV host over 'pro sharia law' comments; 21 February 2017; news.com.au
  43. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied at the 34th John Paul College Speech Night". John Paul College. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  44. ^ Rawsthorne, Sally (25 April 2017). "ABC presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied forced to delete Anzac Day post asking Australians to think about Manus Island and Palestine". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  45. ^ "'White Christians have no compassion' says Muslim businessman in support of besieged ABC presenter". Yahoo News. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  46. ^ "Muslim sheikh says ABC should sack Yassmin Abdel-Magied after 'disrespectful' Anzac Day remarks". Yahoo News. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  47. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied: ABC activist's vile anti-Diggers remark slammed as 'deeply reprehensible'". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  48. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied: ABC can't sweep presenter's Anzac Day controversy under the carpet, Joyce says". ABC News. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  49. ^ "ABC stands by Yassmin Abdel-Magied after Facebook post sparks Anzac Day outrage".
  50. ^ "Australia Wide". ABC TV. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  51. ^ "Julie Bishop resists Eric Abetz's call to sack Yassmin Abdel-Magied from her position on the board of the Council for Australian-Arab Relations".
  52. ^ "Yassmin's gap year". News Corp Australia. 3 July 2017.
  53. ^ "Muslim activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied AXED from board of Council of Australian-Arab Relations". Daily Mail Australia. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  54. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied compares Australia to abusive boyfriend". Australian. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  55. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied the subject of human rights complaint". The Australian. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  56. ^ "'Nice to know the system works': Yassmin Abdel-Magied says racial hatred complaint dismissed". news.com.au. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  57. ^ Abdel-Magied, Yassmin (2016). "1". Yassmin's Story: Who do you Think I am? (Paperback ed.). North Sydney: Penguin Random House. p. 2. ISBN 9780857986153.
  58. ^ Schetzer, Alana (31 January 2017). "Travel ban exemption promised but has the damage to Australia's dual nationals been done?". Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  59. ^ a b Abdel-Magied, Yassmin (2016). "1". Yassmin's Story: Who do you Think I am? (Paperback ed.). North Sydney: Penguin Random House. p. 7. ISBN 9780857986153.
  60. ^ Abdel-Magied, Yassmin (2016). "1". Yassmin's Story: Who do you Think I am? (Paperback ed.). North Sydney: Penguin Random House. p. 30. ISBN 9780857986153.
  61. ^ "Yassmin's family in early 1995 after arriving as one of first Sudanese families in Brisbane three years earlier. (L-R) Faiza el-Higzi, brother Yasseen Abdel-Magied, Midhat Abdel-Magied and Yassmin Abdel-Magied". ABC News. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  62. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied on becoming 'Australia's most publicly hated Muslim'". SMH. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  63. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied on becoming 'Australia's most publicly hated Muslim'". SMH. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  64. ^ Flitton, Daniel (3 January 2011). "Fired up to be the first female, Muslim F1 driver". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  65. ^ Abdel-Magied, Yassmin (2016). "1". Yassmin's Story: Who do you Think I am? (Paperback ed.). North Sydney: Penguin Random House. p. 17. ISBN 9780857986153.
  66. ^ "7 August 2012". ABC. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  67. ^ "Yassmin's family in early 1995 after arriving as one of first Sudanese families in Brisbane three years earlier. (L-R) Faiza el-Higzi, brother Yasseen Abdel-Magied, Midhat Abdel-Magied and Yassmin Abdel-Magied". ABC News. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  68. ^ "The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia - Institution outputs - Nature Index". www.natureindex.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  69. ^ "About Yassmin Abdel-Magied". Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  70. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied on becoming 'Australia's most publicly hated Muslim'". SMH. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  71. ^ "Yassmin's gap year". News Corp Australia. 3 July 2017.
  72. ^ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied compares Australia to abusive boyfriend". Australian. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
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