Why Narmin Jivani is Spending Her Time Virtually Organizing Ismaili Voters this Election.
A conversation with IRU’s Deputy Campaign Manager for Florida on identity, responsibility, and activism in the Ismaili community.
Recently, Ismailis Rise Up (IRU) sat down with IRU-trained political organizer and recently appointed Deputy Campaign Manager for Florida, Narmin Jivani. Narmin talked us through how the roots of her social justice activism stemmed from the role our faith has played in shaping her identity.
You’ve been pretty clear from the get go that your drive to do social justice work and voter mobilization work with IRU in particular, comes from your strong identification with parts of your upbringing and heritage — tell us more about that.
I am a young, queer, progressive, Ismaili woman who firmly believes in our community’s power to create real change in this country. Six years ago, I left my childhood home in Tampa, Florida and moved to New York City where I studied Political Science at NYU. Since graduating two years ago, I have spent my entire young career in the civic engagement space–– my work spans multi-state voter registration assistance for the 2018 midterm election to my current job at New American Leaders where we educate people who identify with the immigrant experience to run for public office and work on political campaigns at the local, state, and federal level.
But it wasn’t until catastrophe arrived in my new home city that I fully understood the power of community. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City harder than anywhere else in the country in March, we beared witness to the enormous good collective organizing, like mutual aid networks created by the community, could do for those in need. It was the community that provided food, delivered groceries, and conducted check-in calls to senior citizens, immunocompromised people, and people who were undocumented and that were left out of receiving COVID relief. When protests erupted across the nation in May to combat police brutality against our Black siblings, we again witnessed grassroots organizations leading the revolution that still continues today.
Communities take care of our own in our time of need, and now, it’s time for us to come together to mobilize our Ismaili community to vote in this November’s election. The Ismaili community is a force to be reckoned with, and we cannot waste our political power during this election.
I particularly want to mobilize Ismaili voters because we actually have the power to flip congressional districts and many other seats across the political landscape if we show up to vote. I want to mobilize our community because I didn’t grow up understanding the full magnitude of my political voice until college, and I think many Ismailis in the U.S. experienced a similar lack of political discussion or involvement growing up. I think in order to be true members of our civil society, it’s vital to change the stigma or apathy in our community towards political engagement for generations going forward, and if there’s any time, it’s now.
To me, the motivation to vote in this election was never in question because there will be huge, real-life consequences depending on who’s elected, especially for minorities like me. The atrocities we see in this country every day are more than enough to drive me to the (virtual) polls with all of my might, even if I personally am not affected by them, as voting is a way to show empathy for and stand in solidarity with others who are struggling or who have been treated unfairly.
I’m voting in this election because my South Asian family’s ability to immigrate to this country, as well as our right to vote, was possible only because of the tireless efforts of Black Americans, especially women, to fight for a more equal country. I don’t want to take for granted a right that was so difficult to gain, and which is still trying to be taken away today. I’m voting in this election because some people still don’t have equal access to voting, whether because of voter suppression, incarceration, or legal status. I’m voting in the place of anyone who has been disenfranchised, because the people who get elected will still make decisions that affect all of their constituents, regardless of how many of them could vote.
I’m voting in this election to ensure we have elected officials who will protect small businesses during this ongoing pandemic, so our parents don’t have to worry about providing for our families or paying rent. I am going to vote for people who will actually take steps towards containing the pandemic and honor the memory of the 170,000 Americans who have died so far. And we are not just voting for the president — we are voting for senators, House representatives, governors, state legislators, city council members, school board members, judges…all the way down the ballot. And I would be remiss to not mention that every vote really does count. Just last week, Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton lost her primary election in Florida by only 331 votes, a margin of less than 1%. There are countless examples of election results that have even narrower margins.
Finally, I believe in using my privilege to improve the quality of life of others, as our Leadership teaches us. I was lucky enough to be born in the richest country in the world, with access to great education, healthcare, housing, nutrition, and other basic necessities, with little financial difficulty, and into a loving family. It is my duty as a global citizen to fight to ensure every person has the opportunity to enjoy these same basic rights.
What led you to getting trained and organizing with Ismailis Rise Up?
I received an email from a community member, Alia Jeraj, the day before the IRU officially launched. I felt so empowered after reading IRU’s first Medium post, which described IRU’s mission to build a coalition of Ismaili organizers to mobilize Ismaili voters in this election and beyond. I’ve had the desire to get more Ismailis to be civically engaged, but didn’t have an organized way of reaching a wider audience, so I immediately followed IRU on Instagram, subscribed to their email list, and reached out to ask how I could be involved :)
You participated in our inaugural Masterclass on Electoral Organizing — we plan to hold one every month until the election. For folks who might’ve missed the first one, what was your big takeaway?
The Masterclass was an extremely well-organized, informative, and powerful training that not only taught organizers how to mobilize Ismaili voters, but also provided hope that Ismailis can create tangible change in this election if we show up to the polls in November. The IRU team did an amazing job gathering experienced speakers and trainers and I learned so many valuable things that I couldn’t even write them all down.
One way I will implement my learnings is by being more open-minded about people’s political views and reasons for voting or not voting. Instead of imposing my political beliefs on others, I want to understand different perspectives and simply encourage Ismailis to become more civically engaged if they aren’t already. One thing the Masterclass taught me was to challenge the assumptions we make about others and instead listen to them. I want to put this into practice to better understand how to keep our community engaged in the political process even beyond 2020.
Not only did we find Narmin’s story very inspiring, but we also found it to be incredibly useful to share with the rest of our audience. If you enjoyed reading about Narmin and her work with Ismailis Rise Up, register here for our second masterclass by Thursday, September 3rd!
