Sadia Azmat ( ur, عظمت سعدیہ; born 1990) is an English

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

of Indian descent.

Early life

Azmat was born in

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Rive ...

, England. At the age of 19, she started wearing hijab.

Career

Azmat had been working in call-centres of varying descriptions, but in 2010, Azmat started performing stand-up comedy. In August 2011, she performed her debut show ''Please Hold – You're Being Transferred to a UK Based Asian Representative'' at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

at the Laughing Horse @ Finnegan's Wake, which was directed by Deborah Frances-White. In August 2011, Azmat also featured on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

's '' Front Row'' and a producer invited her to perform at the

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

Festival 2012. In December 2011, she performed at the Desi Central Comedy Tour in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

. In August 2014, she performed her debut full-length show ''I'm not

Malala Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second P ...

'' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the Laughing Horse. In September 2014, she was interviewed by Nadia Hussein and Sakinah Lenoir on British Muslim TV's ''Sisters' Hour''. In June 2015, she made a short film ''Things I Have Been Asked As a British Muslim'' as part of the ''British Muslim Comedy'' series, five short films by Muslim comedians commissioned by the BBC for release on BBC iPlayer. Azmat debunked Muslim stereotypes, including the " Muslim verdict", racism, Ramadan, integration and hijab, thus providing a look at life as a Muslim woman. In August 2015, she performed at the inaugural Muslim Lifestyle Expo at the

Ricoh Arena The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to footb ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

. In September 2015, she appeared on Sky News's ''Morning Stories'' series on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

, questioning what people would be willing to do for someone we love. In January 2016, Azmat appeared on '' This Week'' where she criticised

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

's push for English language lessons for Muslim women to help them resist the lure of

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic un ...

. In March 2017, as part of our All Women Everywhere month, Azmat appeared on a video about Asian Women talking about stereotypes they deal with while dating. Azmat also a regular in the

channel ''Bend It TV'' aimed to providing the news from an Asian perspective.

Comedy style

Azmat's act is observational humour about her experiences working as a call centre operative for a well-known car insurance firm, being a

British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...

Muslim growing up in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and moves on to more general cross-cultural issues, about race and religion, her difficulties in the UK job market and an Asian mum gag. Azmat is described by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' as "hilarious and insightful" for her current set of ''I Am Not

''.

Awards and recognition

In September 2011, Azmat was shortlisted for the Funny Women Awards final in

Leicester Square Theatre The Leicester Square Theatre is a 400-seat theatre in Leicester Place, immediately north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It was previously known as Notre Dame Hall, Cavern in the Town and The Venue. The theatre hosts st ...

, London.

References

External links