Candidate for SNP in Scotland Roza Salih: “My goal is to increase the women’s struggle”
Roza Salih, who was born in Southern Kurdistan, is an election candidate for the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Glasgow region. She noted that one of her first projects is to defend refugee rights, “I will make the voice of Kurdish people heard everywhere and my biggest goal is to increase the women’s struggle.”
TERZE TAHA
News Center- 33-year-old Roza Salih arrived in Scotland in 2001 to seek asylum after her family fled Southern Kurdistan in Iraq. At the age of 15, she started working as an activist when she was a high school student. She co-founded the Glasgow Girls with several of her schoolmates from Drumchapel High School. After a while, the Glasgow Girls became known in the country. She is now an election candidate for the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the Glasgow region.
“People here listen to each other, respect each other”
Roza Salih has run her election campaign. She talked about the process that led her to become a candidate. “People listen to each other in the Scottish Parliament. MPs have been listened to and respected. The most interesting thing for me was the salary of MPs. The MPs haven’t received a high salary. You only make your voice heard and become the voice of the people you represent. Unfortunately, it is different in my country. The parliament of Southern Kurdistan is much different. They never care about if you work or not. If you want to be a member of the parliament, you just need to be a member of a family in Southern Kurdistan. But here, it is not the same. Being a member of a well-known family or being rich is not important here. You can be a member of the parliament if you work hard,” Roza Salih said, drawing attention to differences between the two countries.
“My biggest goal is to increase the women’s struggle”
Roza Salih stated that the number of Kurdish people in Glasgow is low and they live in different regions. “In fact, the main reason why I am an election candidate is to struggle and to carry out projects for my people and refugee people. One of my projects, the most important project, is about refugees. I want to work for women and refugees and defend their rights. One of my biggest goals is to stand by working women and to increase their struggles. I will work for women’s participation in the workforce,” Roza Salih said.
“I want to make the voice of Kurdish people heard everywhere”
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election will be held on 6 May 2021. Roza Salih is hopeful that she will win. “If I become a member of the parliament, I will serve the Kurdish people better and make their voice heard everywhere.”