(REDMOND REPORTER) Twenty-four-year old Varisha Khan is Redmond’s first Muslim woman to serve on Redmond City Council.
Khan was officially sworn in on Dec. 17 and her term expires on Dec. 31, 2023. She will replace councilmember Hank Myers in council Pos. 1.
The new councilmember was born in Dallas and moved to Redmond with her family at the age of 7. Khan recalls the transition being difficult.
However, during this time of change Khan remembers feeling a sense of community within her neighborhood. She said everyone was supportive of her family being there.
“We always felt that sense of closeness — like a family,” she said.
During her campaign, Khan canvassed that same neighborhood. There, she knocked on several doors and encountered new residents who knew her old neighbors. One resident, in particular, asked Khan if she was a part of the family who participated in the neighborhood makeshift table tennis tournaments. And laughing, Khan responded, “that was my dad.”
Being in her old neighborhood, Khan said it brought back many memories. Especially memories of being in her neighbor’s garage, watching her dad and neighbor play an intense game of table tennis.
“It came back full circle on my campaign trail,” Khan said, “This is what brought me back. This is what made me want to run and give back to the community because I think of the people here…It makes me proud to be here.”
Community is what brought Khan back to Redmond and she is always thinking about what Redmond could be.
From a young age, Khan said she knew had to put herself in politics to affect the change she wanted to see. Through negative experiences such as being bullied for her religion and stereotyping, Khan realized she needed to fight systemic racism and change the system of oppression and marginalization of minority communities.
“My friends would ask me questions about being Muslim and some would call me Islamophobic names,” Khan said. “That was the first time I had to ask the question about why would anyone think this way.”
Since then, Khan made it her life mission to change the system to be more inclusive and more representative.
