By Abdullahi Jamaa | Smart Muslim
Enjoying motherhood for the first time, Umulkheir Harun is passionate about breastfeeding. She ends up carrying her baby everywhere she goes with an all-consuming devotion to her newborn child.
The bubbly young mother who doubles as a Nominated Member of Parliament is excited about motherhood. Knowing that there is a huge new responsibility on her shoulders, she always tries to find a way to balance faith, family and work.
“I carry my child everywhere I go and I am doing exclusive breastfeeding. I am passionate about breastfeeding” She told Smart Muslim in an interview. “I am trying to do my maternal duties very seriously. I have cut some of my work trips and I try to spend as much time with my child now.”
She is adjusting herself to the obligation of parenting, putting her best foot forward as a new mom. She undoubtedly knows that being a mother is not just that, there’s some great, overpowering, and a magnificent matter at the center of motherhood that is so hard to enunciate in words- It is a feeling.
“I was just a young girl before. I used to pack my bags and go anywhere but now because of motherhood, Alhamdullilah, things have changed, I have to make arrangements” she says
As a lawmaker she has a lot on her table, but the joy of motherhood brings a quintessential mix of commitments where her new parenting role exposes a challenging yet enthusiastic experience.
“Motherhood is not easy but it is also not hard as long as you have good support. I kept away from people for the first two months, it was just me and my husband trying to bond with the baby. I wanted to learn through my own mistakes.” The MP says
Even though she is new to motherhood, she knows parenting like the back her hand. Growing with five sisters brought by a dutiful mother, the MP appreciates the role of family members. Not forgetting herself in the pall of busy life, she underscores the importance of giving time to those who mean a lot to her.
“I draw a lot of support from my husband, my parents and my siblings. I keep my circle and people around me very close because that is the only place you can get support”
Family values
She is still the apple of her mother’s eye. with a strong mother-to-daughter bond, many times she finds herself around her mother. No doubt, the prophetic edict on motherhood ‘your heaven lies under the feet of your mother’ further cements her solid connection with her mother.
“I go to my mother’s house, chill with her, spend time with her and make stories for her. I just enjoy spending time with her”
As a devoted family person, an adoring mother of one, the jovial MP considers herself as fiercely faithful to family values, a passion that gave her an endless parade of wonderful opportunities in life.
Her husband, a PHD student at New York University who understands global trends and socio-economic dynamics of life is yet another important family pillar for her. The MP doesn’t take for granted the role of her partner and appreciates the benevolent support she draws from him.
“I get a lot of strength from my husband who gives me guidance and support. We do brainstorming on important matters and I learn a lot from him. Most of the time he is not around but all the while, we make efforts to be together and support each other”
And whenever the cheerful MP looks for a role model, she doesn’t have to look far, her dad a veteran educationist is the person she looks up to most of the time. The MP recalls how her dad often gave her all the motivation she required in life when she was a teenager up until today.
“My dad is my biggest supporter and fan. In my first ever trip, dad came to pick me from the airport after I attended a women event. That day he told me I shall conquer the world” she vividly recalls her dad’s caring enunciation of heartwarming words.
As a courageous, straightforward and a just dad, he remains to be her biggest mentor. “May Allah bless him always”
When asked about how she balances her life between handling family affairs, work and her religious duties, Umulkheir says it is all about what a person stands for. Admittedly, for her, unlocking the jiggle puzzle of contemporary life where there is always one more thing to do requires one to set priorities right.
With an insatiable desire to be the best version of herself, the boom and bane of life do not necessarily distract her from facing the realities of modern life. She navigates through her daily life with an unshaken spirit.
“Life is challenging for everybody and this is because of the current situation across the globe where everyone is busy looking for economic and social stability. But it all boils down to what you stand for”
In a world where it is hard to achieve all ambitions in life, she depends on Allah (the Most High) and trust him in all things, not some. Spirituality takes a very special place in the chakras of her heart, due to this she leaves nothing to chance in staying true to her religion.
“My faith comes first; at the end of the day we are all servants of Allah regardless of whatever status we hold in the society. I observe my prayers, I conduct my Sunnahs, pay my sadaqa and zakat on time. Honestly I put that before anything else”
Faith
As a worshiper, dua makes a formidable bastion for her. She never forgets carrying a pocket Hisnul Muslim almost all the times and especially whenever she travels so as to forget all the forebodings of life and connect with Allah again and again.
She is taking a clue from the life of our righteous predecessors, much more from the mother of believers Aisha (ra) who said in an authentic hadith that “We used to Ask Allah for help and facilitation even when tying our shoe laces”
“I make duas including for somethings as little as buying a new dress, may be that is one of my secrets. I pack my prayer mat whenever I travel. I use Islamic apps on the go. I am an introvert who sits somewhere and perform my small activities like my sunnahs. I really meditate a lot, reflect a lot and thank Allah all the time”
From the back of her mind, she knows that one can easily fall off the grid of life if God is absent from ones’ life. A reason why the budding politician tries so hard to achieve a score of taqwa.
Admittedly she has long abandoned some of her teenage hobbies that included watching movies during her free time, replacing them with a regimen of spiritual enlightenments to increase her commitment to the deen.
“I used to love watching movies on my phone, but I stopped that. You know the more you grow, the more things change. Alhadullilah”
Ummi offers advice to Muslim women and girls to never comprise their deen asking them to remain true to their Islamic culture and tradition especially during this cotemporary time when cultural influence tempts to sway away many young Muslim girls.
“Do not compromise your deen, do not set yourself on fire to keep somebody warm. You will find yourself in situations where you have a lot of leverage, somebody will tell you so and so is a Muslim and she did that. Whatever you do and where you go as a young professional Muslim woman you are the ambassador of Islam. Always put your deen first and Allah will open the doors for you”
One more thing she tells Muslim ladies is the power and place of Hijab. She has a message for those who are struggling with this issue calling them to support each other to embrace the Hijab as dictated in the Magnificent Quran.
“There is nothing called modern Hijab, we need to stop that. There is nothing modern in Hijab, it is already dictated in the Quran. Let us adopt the Hijab the way it is. As a Muslim woman, carry yourself diligently as you are an ambassador of Islam”
Coming back to her professional work, Ummi who got married at the age of 26 in the middle of an aggressive political campaign of 2022 elections, rarely finds the time to sit at coffee shops. When she is not at parliament buildings she is at home.
“I am work-home person. Most of the time I tell people to meet me at places closer to home. I go to my office and come back home. I do not go out unless it is necessary and important”
Her next assignment in the Kenyan parliament is to chat a new road map for legislations that supports women to achieve more rights in the work place. She hopes to introduces positive changes to address the gaps in labour laws affecting working women.
“As a lawmaker there were some legislations that I was not giving adequate attention before. As a mother an issue that is now close to my heart is to make a change for other women to enjoy some benefits like paid maternity leave” She finally says
