Roza Salih (born 1989) is an Iraqi-Kurdish born, Scottish politician and human rights activist. In 2005, at the age of 15, she co-founded the Glasgow Girls with fellow pupils from

Drumchapel Drumchapel (), known locally as 'The Drum', is a district in the north-west of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It borders Bearsden (in East Dunbartonshire) to the north-east and Drumry (part of Clydebank, in West Dunbartonshire) to the south-wes ...

High School. The Glasgow Girls campaigned to stop the

UK Border Agency The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was forme ...

carrying out

dawn raid A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law enforcement officers, which aims to use the element of surprise to seize evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to hide evidence, resist arrest, endanger the public or offi ...

s and detaining and then deporting children, successfully preventing the deportation of their school friend, Agnesa Murselaj, a

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

from

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. Salih, who was born in

Southern Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), ...

, is a co-founder of Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan. In May 2021, she stood as a candidate at the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

, standing as the lead candidate for the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

on the Glasgow region. In May 2022, she was elected as an SNP councillor for Greater Pollok ward on

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

, the first former refugee to be elected to political office in Scotland.

Early life and education

Roza Salih arrived in Scotland in 2001 to seek

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

. Her family had fled

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...

after her grandfather and two uncles had been executed for opposing

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

, who was still in power. Salih attended

High School, and then graduated with honors in Law and Politics from

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

in 2013 where she was also Vice President for Diversity and Advocacy for the Students Association. She was elected to the National Union of Students' International Students Committee and the NUS UK Student trustee board.

Activism

In March 2005, whilst still a pupil at Drumchapel High School, Salih campaigned with fellow pupils to stop the

carrying out dawn raids, taking school children to Yarl's Wood and then deporting them. As well as lobbying the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

and the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

, the Glasgow Girls, as they became known, developed an early warning system with friends and neighbours to alert one another about raids by immigration officers. In 2016, she worked with the

Scottish Refugee Council The Scottish Refugee Council is a registered charity that provides advice and services to asylum seekers and refugees. The objective of the organisation is ‘building a better future with refugees in Scotland’. The charity was formed in Edin ...

and Education Strategy Commission to campaign for funding for scholarships for asylum seekers. She is co-founder of Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan and has travelled to Kurdish regions in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

as part of a delegation of trade unionists and human rights activists. In 2017, Salih was appointed as a member of the

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists. The STUC is a separate organisation from the English and Welsh ...

. In April 2021, she hit out at UK Home Secretary

Priti Patel Dame Priti Sushil Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British politician who has served as Shadow Foreign Secretary since November 2024, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was Secr ...

's proposals for immigration reform, which would see asylum seekers penalised if they travelled to the UK through another country that they could have claimed asylum in first. Salih said, "Having been through the UK's asylum system - and experienced first hand how deeply flawed it is - I am appalled that the UK government are planning on doubling down instead of fixing the issues. Scotland has made it clear it wants nothing to do with

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

and Priti Patel's toxic migration policies and wants an asylum system based on the principles of fairness, dignity and respect." She went on to say, "These practises and new proposals show the harsh reality of the Tories' hostile environment. Their consistent attempts to roll back, or simply abandon human rights obligations and break international law are a disgrace. Sadly, putting hostility over humanity is now the norm for this Tory government." She is in favour of the UK becoming a republic.

Political career

Salih said that she joined the

because she sees parallels between Kurdistan's fight for self-determination and

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

. "Independence has always been in my blood," she told the '' i''. "Kurdish people want independence and their autonomy and we fought for it – literally people died for the cause. Here it's only a signature in a referendum and people can do that in a democratic country. Back home, you have to fight for it and die for it." Salih previously worked in the constituency office of

Chris Stephens Christopher Charles Stephens (born 20 March 1973) is a Scottish National Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow South West from 2015 until 2024. He was SNP Spokesperson for Justice and Immigration between September ...

, the SNP MP for Glasgow South West. In 2017, she stood as an SNP candidate for the Garscadden/Scotstounhill ward in the Glasgow City Council election, but was not elected. She is a part of Social Justice Commission of the SNP and stood for the party's nomination for Clydebank and Milngavie in the

, but lost it to

Marie McNair Marie McNair (born 1975/76) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Clydebank and Milngavie since May 2021. Early career Before entering politics, McNair spent 14 years worki ...

, a Clydebank councillor. On 5 March 2021, Salih was selected at the number one SNP candidate for the Glasgow region. Had she been successful, she would have been first refugee ever to be elected to Holyrood, but the SNP won all the city constituencies so did not receive any list seats. She was elected as an SNP councillor in the Greater Pollok ward in Glasgow at the

2022 Scottish local elections The 2022 Scottish local elections were held on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All 1,226 seats across all 32 Scottish local government, Scottish local authorities were up for election and voter turnout was 44.8%. ...

, and is now a

baillie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...

. In 2024, it was disclosed that she (along with 3 other Glasgow City Councillors) was in arrears for payment of £1,210 in Council Tax. Salih said: “This was an unfortunate oversight which has now been resolved.”

Awards and recognition

A musical of the Glasgow Girls was co-produced by The National Theatre of Scotland,

Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford East (formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East) is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with di ...

, the

Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and playwright in residence Paul Vincent Carroll is based in Glasgow, Scotland, as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat ...

and Richard Jordan Productions. Written by David Greig and directed and composed by

Cora Bissett Cora Bissett (born 1974) is a Scottish theatre director, playwright, actor and musician. As a director she has created ''Amada'', ''Roadkill'', ''Grit: The Martyn Bennett Story'', ''Glasgow Girls'' and ''Room''. As an actor she had regular appe ...

, it premiered at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in 2012. In the original 2012 cast, the part of Roza Salih was played by Amiera Darwish. In 2017 she was honoured by the

Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland, founded in 1936. The society organises lectures and publishes pamphlets, and presents a series of awards in the fiel ...

as an Outstanding Woman of Scotland. In December 2022, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

named Salih as one of the Top 100 Influential Women of 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salih, Roza Living people Women councillors in Glasgow Refugees in the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Kurdish refugees Iraqi refugees Iraqi emigrants to the United Kingdom British women human rights activists Scottish human rights activists 1989 births Scottish people of Iraqi descent People from Sulaymaniyah Scottish National Party parliamentary candidates Scottish National Party councillors Scottish republicans Kurdish women in politics 21st-century Kurdish politicians 21st-century Scottish politicians 21st-century Scottish women politicians