THE Council of Sandwell, a metropolitan district of the West Midlands county in the United Kingdom has appointed its first female Muslim mayor.
Councillor Syeda Khatun will serve as the mayor of Sandwell for the 2024/25 year following a ceremony in Oldbury on Tuesday.
The long-standing Sandwell councillor was first elected in 1999 becoming the first Bangladeshi woman to be elected in the Midlands region and the first Muslim woman to win a seat on Sandwell Council.
At the full council meeting on Tuesday evening, Cllr Khatun said she was “very humbled and honoured” to become the borough’s first citizen.
On becoming mayor, Cllr Khatun said: “This is a great privilege and honour and my promise to all is that I will uphold this honour and make Sandwell proud.
“I am Sandwell’s first female Muslim mayor which helps to reflect our diverse population in the borough and I feel very proud to be representing everyone in Sandwell.”
At the ceremony, votes of thanks were also passed to the outgoing mayor Councillor Bill Gavan and deputy mayor Councillor Elaine Giles.
Cllr Khatun’s daughter Syeda Hasna will serve as mayoress.
The mayor will be raising money for children’s charity Acorns and the Yemeni Community Association’s Let’s Talk Hope project.
Acorns offers a network of palliative care and support to life-limited and life-threatened children and their families.
