Constituency Nominated MP Name Sonia Birdi Nationality Kenyan Role Member of Parliament | Profession Legislator Website www.soniabirdi.com | |
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Committees Parliamentary committee on Environment and Natural Resources | ||
Political party United Republican Party | ||
Urp s nomimated mp sonia birdi interview on weighbridge saga
Sunjeev 'Sonia' Kaur Birdi is a nominated member of the Kenyan Parliament. She was the first Asian-Kenyan woman lawmaker to serve in the national legislature.
Contents
- Urp s nomimated mp sonia birdi interview on weighbridge saga
- Hon Sonia Birdi MP speaks at the Lions Club Open Day
- Early life and education
- Political career
- References
Hon Sonia Birdi MP speaks at the Lions Club Open Day
Early life and education
Sunjeev Kaur "Sonia" Birdi was born to Sikh parents, Surinder Birdi and Kuljiridei Birdi, in Nairobi. She attended a convent school, and a college in India for her undergraduate degree. She earned a master's degree in business administration from Sheffield University.
From 1998 to 2005 she worked as a journalist reporting for Radio Africa’s East FM.
Political career
Birdi entered politics as a response to the suffering she saw while doing relief work in the aftermath of the Sinai oil fire at Mukuru kwa Njenga in 2011.
Birdi has taken part in various activities in her capacity as a member of parliament. She was at the Women In Parliament Global Forum in Brussels, taking part in the African Women’s Communication and Development Network (FEMNET) walk for the Bring Back Our Girls campaign following the Nigerian schoolgirls' kidnapping by Boko Haram.
She also attended the inauguration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and had the opportunity to discuss Kenya–India relations with the BJP.
Birdi sponsored a motion in Parliament, for the government to build dams countrywide for conservation of the environment and ecosystem management in order to reduce environmental degradation. She has also spoken on road safety measures, urging the Transport Safety Authority to take stricter measures on public transport safety. In 2016 she advocated for clearing Kenya's backlog of immigration applications, saying "Failure to issue applicants with citizenship has violated their rights, equality and freedom from discrimination."
In 2015 she and fellow MP Alfred Keter were charged with creating a public disturbance and abusing their power, after an incident at the Gilgil weighbridge, involving a truck belonging to her father's company. The two said that they were confronting corrupt officials at the weighbridge.