The only Somali female Mayor in the United Kingdom has quit the Labour Party accusing it of “oppression” and “discrimination.”
On Friday morning, Councilor Rakhia Ismail announced that she would no longer belong to the Labour Party.
Her resignation came immediately after the emotional speech she gave during a full council meeting on Thursday night.
Ismail, a Holloway Ward councilor, had informed her colleagues of an announcement that she needed to make.
She has already handed over the mayoral duties and office to Councilor Janet Burgess.
During her speech at the full council meeting, Ismail said, “The party’s leadership has continued to disrespect my values over the last six years of my time as a councilor and mayor.”
The meeting was held virtually as part of the measures for curbing the spread of COVID-19.
Prior to her resignation, Ismail had been the first and only mayor of a municipality in the UK to wear a hijab.