Shabana Mahmood is a British-Pakistani lawyer-turned-politician who has become one of the most senior Muslim women in UK public life. Born in Birmingham in 1980, she studied law at Oxford and qualified as a barrister in 2003 before entering politics. In 2010, she was elected MP for Birmingham Ladywood. Mahmood rose steadily through Labour’s ranks, serving in shadow ministerial posts before returning to prominence in 2021 as National Campaign Coordinator and later Shadow Justice Secretary. Following Labour’s 2024 landslide victory, she was appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, making history as the first Muslim woman to hold the role. She introduced reforms on prison overcrowding and defended judicial equality. In September 2025, she was promoted to Home Secretary, becoming the first Muslim woman to lead a great office of state.