Afshan Rafiq is a Pakistani Norwegian

Norwegians of Pakistani descent

Pakistani Norwegians are Norwegians of Pakistani descent. First generation Pakistani Norwegians, who migrate from Pakistan, are distinguished from the mainstream in several demographic aspects, while second generation Pakistani Norwegians, who are born in Norway, are well-established in Norway and...

 politician for the Conservative Party

Conservative Party of Norway

The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...

.

Born in Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 to Pakistani immigrants, she graduated from the University of Oslo

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

 in 1999 with the cand.mag.

Cand.mag.

Candidatus magisterii , Candidata magisterii , i.e. Latin Candidate of Arts, abbreviated cand.mag., is an academic degree used in Denmark, and formerly in Norway and Iceland, roughly corresponding to an American Master of Arts and officially translated as such...

 degree. In 2000 she enrolled in medicine studies.

She became involved in the Young Conservatives

Norwegian Young Conservatives

Norwegian Young Conservatives is a Norwegian youth party. Its ideology is liberal conservatism, and the party is in many ways more liberal than its mother party, Conservative Party of Norway. Henrik Asheim succeeded Torbjørn Røe Isaksen as leader in 2008.- Leaders :...

 as a teenager, and served as a member of Oslo city council from 1995 to 2001. In 2001

Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001

A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on September 10, 2001. The Labour Party won a plurality of votes and seats, closely followed by the Conservative Party...

 she was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, as the first minority person elected to the Norwegian Parliament. Pakistan-born Athar Ali

Athar Ali

Athar Ali is a Pakistani Norwegian have represented the Norwegian political party Red.He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo during the term 1993–1997...

 had served earlier, but as a deputy representative. Rafiq was not re-elected in 2005

Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005

Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 12 September 2005. More than 3.4 million Norwegians were eligible for vote for the Storting, the parliament of Norway. The new Storting has 169 members, an increase of four over the 2001 election....

. Instead, she served in the position of deputy representative during the term 2005–2009.

Rafiq resides at Høybråten

Høybråten

Høybråten is a residential area in the north-eastern part of Norway's capital Oslo. Høybråten has its own church, schools and railway station....

, and is married to fellow politician Aamir J. Sheikh

Aamir J. Sheikh

Aamir Javed Sheikh is a Norwegian-Pakistani local politician. Sheikh has been the City Representative for Oslo for the Høyre Party since 1995.Aamir J. Sheikh came to Norway when he was eight, and grew up in Oslo...

, with whom she has one daughter. They have faced significant problems, including violence threats, because of their marriage. Sheikh had originally gone through an arranged marriage

Arranged marriage

An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...

, but this was annulled in 2003, marrying Rafiq one year later. Rafiq has also spoken out against the caste system.