In the last four years since the 2011 parliamentary elections, Nasima Razmyar, 30, has developed tremendously as a politician to become a strong voice of hope of Finland’s ever-growing culturally diverse society.
Razmyar, a candidatae for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who lost getting elected by about 100 votes in the last election, vows to work tirelessly to change the present anti-cultural diversity climate presently gripping Finland.
Nasima Razmyar speaking to a group of students at Otava Folk High School in 2014.
“There are a lot of matters that concern me about our country,” she said, “one of these is growing social inequality. I want to change this.”
The SDP candidate is a good example of today’s Finland, which is becoming ever-multicultural.
Razmyar was born in Afghanistan and brought up in Finland.
“I am first and foremost Nasima, a Finn with an Afghan background, a world citizen,” she said. “Identity is a personal matter but if a person is discriminated or considered less of a Finn because of his or her skin color, religion or any other reason that is wrong.”
“I’m proud of my background,” Razmyar continued. “This does not mean, however, that I only concentrate on one issue like discrimination in our society but others interest me as well like energy, employment and the economy.”
Razmyar, who was elected to the Helsinki city council in 2012, admits that immigration is only a small problem in Finland compared with the other challenges that the country faces.
“I’m also interested in global politics and would like to get involved and help improve the situation in troubled regions like the Middle East,” she said. “Women’s rights and equal pay are important campaign issues for me.”
But high on the list of Razmyar’s priorities is Finland’s ever-growing social inequality. She said that every person in this country must have access to equal opportunities.
“One way to improve matters in Finland is by challenging poverty and the social illnesses it brings,” she said. “There are today about one million people in this country that live in poverty.”
“I’m an optimist at heart,” she concluded. “I wouldn’t have gotten into politics if I were a pessimist and couldn’t change matters.”