Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 05, 2015
An Afghan-born woman who came to Canada as a refugee has been sworn in as the country’s minister of democratic institutions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau elevated parliamentary deputy Maryam Monsef to his 31-member cabinet on November 4, making her the youngest minister.
The single, 30-year-old woman says she was raised in the western city of Herat and lost her father when she was a toddler.
Monsef says she fled Afghanistan with her widowed mother and two sisters in 1996 while she was 11.
Last month, the Liberal politician became the youngest-ever member of Canada’s parliament.
Based on reporting by huffingtonpost.ca