As election votes around the country continue to be counted this morning, the historic announcement came that the country has voted for Britain's first female Muslim MPs.
Shabana Mahmood, the Labour candidate for Birmingham Ladywood and Yasmin Qureshi, Labour candidate for Bolton South East, easily won seats with majorities of more than 8,000.
A record 22 Asian women stood in this election for all three main parties. Until now no Asian women have ever been elected as MPs. The first male Asian MP, the Indian Dadabhai Naoroji, was elected in 1892 for Finsbury in central London. Mohammad Sarwar became the UK's first Muslim MP after winning Glasgow Central in 1997. Sayeeda Warsi became the first Muslim woman to sit on the front bench for the Conservatives in 2007- as a baroness rather than as an MP.
Source: The Guardian
Further information on the general election is available from the BBC.
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