Dr Noshaba Khiljee is a medical consultant and previous Conservative Prospective candidate in Leyton and Wanstead in 2019. She stood in the Local election 2022 and is an approved Conservative Parliamentary Candidate. She gave this speech at our Celebrating Women MPs event in June 2023.
To begin with, I would like to talk about not just the women MPs but the strong woman in my life who shaped the way I am today.
My grandmother came to work in the 1960s for the NHS, when the doors were opened for skilled people from the commonwealth countries to work in the UK.
She had stood against her family, and in the era when women weren’t allowed to travel to another town alone, let alone another country. She left her children and husband behind in Pakistan for a better future in the UK, with her husband’s support.
This was a difficult step for a lone woman, but coming from a minority background in Pakistan, she knew she had to come to a country where she and her family would have better opportunities.
She worked tirelessly day and night and only called on her family to join her when she had bought her own house, her car and even found my grandfather the same job he had in Pakistan.
Politically, I admire Margaret Thatcher, the first female PM of Great Britain and one of the few female world leaders of her times. She had broken the glass ceiling and paved the way for many women to aspire to follow a political journey.
Whilst campaigning with another female Conservative PM, Theresa May, she spoke about another female friend, Benazir Bhutto, who went on to become the first and to date Pakistan’s only female Prime Minister.
Theresa May was introduced to her husband Philip by Benazir Bhutto, whilst studying at Oxford. She had become even more inspired when Benazir Bhutto took to her premiership in a country where it was much more difficult for women to be leaders, so became even more determined to follow her dreams of becoming the PM of the UK one day.
I also admired Tessa Jowell who never gave up hope in bringing the Olympics to London and who was the only one in the Cabinet at the time who persevered with those ambitions. When no one believed she believed, and bringing the Olympics to London subsequently transformed the East End of London, where I have grown up most of my life.
As a doctor, I also admired her for fighting to get the best cancer treatments to people in the UK, following her diagnosis of a brain tumour. Her last words spoken in the House of Lords still resonate with me today. “In the end, what gives a life meaning is not only how it is lived but how it draws to a close.”
As budding politicians we go into this profession due to our deep rooted passion to change things for the betterment of society. And if we can leave a lasting legacy behind even beyond our lives, it will truly bring home our true desire to serve the very people who chose to give us this honour.
So regardless of what our political views are, as women we should support each other and stand united in uplifting each other. Politics can sometimes be a lonely road and we always need friends around us.
Dr Noshaba Khiljee
(MBBS, FRCP, BSc (Hons), Diploma in Medical Leadership) and Approved Conservative Party Candidate.