There are only six Asian females who are members of the British Parliament. Although this number is likely to grow in the future, it remains proportionally low given the large number of Asians in Britain today.

Relative to their percentages in the overall population, there probably should be at least 35 or 40 Asian females in Westminster.

In the UK, “Asian” is generally regarded as people descended from immigrants who came from the Indian subcontinent – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Three of the six MPs are Muslims.

Here are the six:

Priti Patel Conservative, Witham
Priti Patel is the first Asian female Conservative to win a parliament seat – representing the constituency of Witham in suburban Essex, east of London. Patel is the daughter of Gujarati immigrants who fled Uganda for Britain. Creative Common
Shabana Mahmood Labour, Ladywood-Birmingham
Shabana Mahmood (at right in photo) became the first female Pakistani MP to be elected for Ladywood, a neighborhood in Birmingham, Creative Common
Lisa Nandy Labour, Wigan, Manchester
Lisa Nandy became not only the first Asian MP for the Wigan constituency, but also its first female. Creative Common
Rushanara Ali Labour, Bethnal Green and Bow
Born in Bangladesh, Ali represents the heavily Muslim constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow in the East End of London. She is the very first Bangladeshi ever elected to the House of Commons. Creative Common
Valerie Vaz Labour, Walsall South
Vaz has long been involved in British politics at a local level, and now represents Walsall South in the Midlands. Her younger brother, Keith, is also a Labour MP. walsallsouthlabour.blogspot.co
Yasmin Qureshi Labour, Bolton South East
Born in Pakistan, Qureshi has a history of working on human rights issues as an attorney. She represents Bolton South East in the northwest part of England. Creative Common
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