Yassmin's Story

Frank, fearless, funny, articulate and inspiring, Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a dynamo, a young Muslim dynamo offering a bracing breath of fresh air - and hope. At 21, Yassmin found herself working on a remote Australian oil and gas rig; she was the only woman and certainly the only Sudanese-Egyptian-Australian background Muslim woman. With her hijab quickly christened a 'tea cosy' there could not be a more unlikely place on earth for a young Muslim woman to want to be. This is the story of how she got there, where she is going, and how she wants the world to change. Born in the Sudan, Yassmin and her parents moved to Brisbane when she was two, and she has been tackling barriers ever since. At 16 she founded Youth Without Borders, an organisation focused on helping young people to work for positive change in their communities. . In 2012 she was named Young Leader in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac's inaugural 100 Women of Influence Awards. Born in Sudan and moving to Australia at the age of two, she graduated top of her university year in 2011 with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (First Class Honours), and was a recipient of the University of Queensland's Dean's Excellence scholarship. In 2007, Yassmin was named Young Australian Muslim of the Year for her work in the community and in 2010 Young Queenslander of the Year. She serves on various state and federal councils and is currently works as an engineering specialist on oil and gas rigs.