In this insightful conversation, Editor GVS Dr Moeed Pirzada speaks with Aisha Farooqi, a Pakistani-American attorney and former prosecutor running for U.S. Congress from Michigan’s 11th District. Born in Scotland and raised in Lahore, Aisha represents a new face of American politics—diverse, determined, and deeply connected to her community.
She discusses the challenges of grassroots campaigning, the high cost of elections, and her vision for universal healthcare, affordable childcare, and quality education. Farooqi’s journey reflects not just ambition, but the evolving spirit of the American Dream.
Title: Moeed Pirzada Talks with Aisha Farooqi for US Congress: Pakistani Woman Chasing the American Dream
Date: 5 Nov 2025
Dr Moeed Pirzada: Assalamu alaikum. This is Moeed Pirzada in Washington, DC. Today, I’m joined by a young, intelligent woman politician from Michigan, Miss Aisha Farooqi. She is an American of Pakistani origin running for the United States Congress from Michigan’s 11th congressional district.
She has been a successful attorney and a prosecutor. I would like to understand from her that what is the challenge of standing for the Congress, why the first generation of Pakistanis and South Asians were mostly professionals, like doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs and businessmen, but not in politics, and why she is operating for the politics, what kind of challenge it is, why we hear that congressional campaigns are very expensive. Aisha Faruqi, thank you so much for joining me.
Ms Aisha Farooqi: Thank you so much for having me.
Dr. Pirzada: Aisha, first of all, I would like you to tell my viewers, most of whom are not familiar with you, who Aisha Farooqi is and where you are coming from.
Ms Farooqi: That’s quite a loaded question. My name is Aisha. I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. My family is originally from Pakistan, so after my birth, my family and I moved to Lahore, and both of my parents were professors at Punjabi University. So I spent eight years in the new campus in Lahore, and then in 1993, my mom earned a scholarship to study at the University of Detroit Mercy, and that’s when my family and I moved to Detroit.
Dr. Pirzada: So what kind of recollections do you have of Lahore or of Scotland?
Ms Farooqi: I don’t remember Scotland at all because we moved to Pakistan on my first birthday. But I remember Pakistan, of course. I remember the good food. I remember Kababish going there. I remember getting Thappas during Eid, going to Anarkali for shopping, and just my family and friends, you know, all good memories.
Dr. Pirzada: So are you suggesting that you’re a British citizen as well, you’re a Pakistani citizen as well, or no?
Ms Farooqi: No. Margaret Thatcher had passed a law that, unless your parents were Scottish citizens, you couldn’t get citizenship. So I don’t have Scottish, Scottish citizenship, but I think if I were to apply for it, I could get it. But I’m okay with my American citizenship.
Dr. Pirzada: So, will it be correct to say that Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher were at least 40 years ahead of Donald time?
Ms Farooqi: You can say that.
Dr. Pirzada: What do you think about the birthright citizenship? I mean, Britain would do it. Most European countries, I think, curtailed it, but the United States is probably one of the few countries in the world that gives birthright citizenship. What do you think of that?
Ms Farooqi: As an attorney, I am obviously in support of it. I think anyone who comes to the US, and if they end up having a child, that child was born in the United States of America, and they should have citizenship, even if the parents do not have a status; they’re not legal residents.
Dr. Pirzada: Absolutely interesting. I also want to understand from you that, what do you think why the first generation of Indians and Pakistani immigrants in United States were mostly professionals, entrepreneurs in business, investors in real estate, but very few of them, especially in case of Pakistanis, very few of them, ventured into politics. And what’s the difference?
Ms Farooqi: I think prior to President Obama winning the presidency, people who look like us didn’t really see themselves represented in the political sphere. I think most immigrants are focused on survival, so they’re working hard. They’re making sure that their families have good food and clothing, that their children are able to get a good college education, and so their focus is just on providing for their families.
I think our generation is able to do a lot more, and we are venturing out into politics because we believe that we have a right to representation, and I also think that we are doing well in this area because of all the sacrifices our parents made. They gave up on their dreams so we could pursue hours.
Dr. Pirzada: It’s interesting, Aisha, that you mentioned President Obama and the Obama presidency. A few weeks ago, I was reading a very interesting book by a New York columnist, ‘Why We Are Polarized. And within this book, somewhere, he mentions that the Obama presidency was a sort of red alert for the white supremacist and for the extreme right. They thought that something strange was happening in the United States, and the Obama presidency has united and coalesced all the right forces in the country. The thing that the United States is getting too brown. This is the Browning of the United States.
Ms Farooqi: I think sometimes people, certain people, feel threatened by other individuals having rights. And I think that one of the reasons so many white supremacists felt threatened by President Obama is that here is a man who is a Harvard graduate, an incredibly intelligent man with an incredibly talented and educated wife who did everything they could to serve their country with honor. And the fact that the pendulum swung from President Obama to President Trump is incredibly disappointing to me as an American, as a patriot who loves this country. What’s interesting is that certain politicians have divided our country, and the current administration, for instance, takes great delight in dividing people, and the media takes great delight and profits from dividing people.
And I think the Obama administration, I didn’t necessarily agree with their foreign policy, but I really think that during that time, a lot of Americans, a lot of immigrants, felt hope, and that hope is now gone, and there is almost tribalism, and people’s political views have become their social identities, their personal identities, and it’s a very strange time to to be involved in politics, because I remember the speech that President Obama gave in 2004 and he said that, you know, there isn’t a blue America and a red America. There’s the United States of America, and I think that’s missing now, the fact that our president said that if Zohran Mamdani wins, he will stop giving funds to New York. I think he’s denying $18 million of federal funding for New York. It’s insane.
So if someone is democratically elected, you have a problem with that. It’s a crazy time to be alive. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of Americans who are fighting for the right thing, and they’re more interested in bringing communities together.
Right now, the biggest issue for Americans is the cost of living. If you can’t eat and feed your family, you’re not worried about what the President wants. Maybe certain people do care about what.
Dr. Pirzada: When we talk about the mayoral election on Tuesday. What do you think about the Mamdani moment in the history of the United States?
Ms Farooqi: It is a very exciting time for those of us who love this country and who look like Zohran Mamdani and who are immigrants and who have parents who speak a different language, who speak a different language themselves, you know, ourselves. It’s a very exciting time to be alive. And what he has been able to accomplish as a political outsider is just, it’s amazing. It’s fascinating.
Dr. Pirzada: I will come back to the US politics once again, but tell me something more about you. Your parents were scientists, both of them academics, and most of the academic children opted to become either doctors or physicians, or they became sort of MBA in finance or engineers or engineers. How come you decided to become a lawyer and attorney?
Ms Farooqi: I didn’t like it when things weren’t fair from a young age. It just bothered me that there were certain people who were often overlooked or treated as if they were invisible, and I always felt this strong urge to stand up for people and defend them, and not necessarily be their voice, because I believe everybody has a voice, but help amplify their voices. I think that’s why I decided to be an attorney.
Dr. Pirzada: So, what has been the experience of working as an attorney and then as a prosecutor?
Ms Farooqi: Humbling, really grateful that I’ve been able to work with individuals who really needed help, and I was able to help them. When I first started working as an attorney, I started my own law firm. Shortly after I started, I passed the bar exam, and I remember the first person to hire me was a young woman who was a survivor of domestic violence, and she was going through a divorce, then I handled her divorce, and seeing her go from this very afraid, really timid young woman to eventually becoming and becoming this very gregarious social media queen was amazing.
That was quite a transformation. I’m very grateful I was able to do that. When I worked as a legal aid attorney, I had a young woman who had four or five children said to me, Thank you for treating me like a human being. She was a tenant, and this was during COVID, and she was on the verge of losing her home and being able to help her, and then hearing those words, I remember that night, I cried because I was like, that’s the bare minimum. Everyone should treat you kindly. So it makes me happy that I was able to help people and also treat them with respect.
Dr Pirzada: I hear you’re in your practice. Do you see other Asians, Indians and Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis, young men and women opting for this, for law, a lot more now than before?
Ms Farooqi: Absolutely. I think in my law school, there were maybe five to 10 other people who were of South Asian descent or Middle Eastern descent going into the legal field. But there are a lot more folks entering the legal field.
Dr. Pirzada: Is there a glass ceiling in the field of law? I mean, people thought that there was no glass ceiling in medicine. You could be coming from Pakistan and India, you can rise to the top of the field. Is there a glass ceiling in law, that if you’re Brown, if you’re Pakistani, Indian religion? I mean, you cannot make much progress.
Ms Farooqi: You don’t think so. I think that if you work hard and if it’s your passion, I believe if you’re passionate about something, you’re going to find success. I really believe that. And I’ve done a lot of public service work, and I’ve seen that anyone who genuinely wanted to help people they were able to succeed. Maybe we didn’t make a lot of money, but we were able to help people, and sometimes that’s enough.
Dr. Pirzada: You also work with children?
Ms. Farooqi: I do, until recently, I was working as a prosecutor in Wayne County, which is in it’s in Detroit. It basically it covers Detroit and some suburbs. And. I worked in the juvenile division. So that was that was a very it was quite an experience, because the goal as a prosecutor, when you’re working in the juvenile division, is to help rehabilitate these young people, and just seeing how broken the system is and how financial insecurity and the lack of mental health resources can lead so many young people into the system was heartbreaking.
Dr. Pirzada: At what point, Aisha that should you actually enter politics?
Ms. Farooqi: I’ve said this before. I think when President Obama came into the political world, or we became aware of him. That was the time when I was like, Oh, wow, someone with brown skin can also become the president of the greatest nation on Earth. And so he was the first political candidate I volunteered for. My sister and I did phone banking for him. And after that, I got involved with the local Democratic Club because I wanted to see how I could help the community. And then during my second year of law school, I ran for the presidency of my class, and I ended up winning. So that was my first real taste of getting involved in politics and then just being part of the Democratic Club. I was asked to run for office in 2022, so that was the first time.
Dr. Pirzada: At any point, you think that you can be a Republican too?
Ms Farooqi: No
Dr.Pirzada: Why? What’s the difference?
Ms Farooqi: I just really want everyone to be able to feel seen and respected for who they are, and I believe in reproductive freedom, and I believe that people should have enough food to eat and have good-paying jobs, and the current Republican Party, in my opinion, doesn’t support the same values that I support.
Dr. Pirzada: Since you are in politics, you are a Democratic candidate. What are the fundamental differences between today’s Democratic Party and the Republicans?
Ms Farroqi: Well, for one, we don’t want people to starve. For instance, we’re not the ones cutting SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans. That’s one. Number two, we want to make sure that working families are able to thrive. We want to make sure that people can earn a good living wage, that kids can have the resources they need in their schools, irrespective of their zip code. And we want to make sure that women have childcare available to them, so if they want to work, or if they need to work, they can.
Dr. Pirzada: So, how are the Republicans making these goals difficult for the people?
Ms Farooqi: I think they give tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and corporations, as opposed to really looking out for everyday Americans.
Dr. Pirzada: But then, Aisha, let’s say if that’s true, then how are the Republicans also hanging on to poor white people, the Hispanic people? Given what ice is actually doing in the streets of Chicago and previously had been doing in California, how Donald Trump and his party have been able to get a sizable, significant Hispanic and poor black or poor white vote,
Ms Farooqi: They have Trump, and Trump can connect with people. I really believe that we want to help the American people. I think that there’s a disconnect. And I say this as someone who’s actually knocked on doors. I think we have to do a better job at connecting with our community. The working class supported Democrats in droves, but now they feel like the Democratic Party has become the party of the elites, and we have to change that. And the way we change that is we start having conversations with everyday Americans. And I think speaking to folks in a way that they can understand is incredibly important, and I think that is why Zohan is so successful. People aren’t voting for Zohran because he is a South-Asian Muslim candidate. They’re voting for him because when he says, I’m going to help make I’m going to help you in. We are helping improve your life. They believe him, and so the hope is he’ll be able to accomplish everything that he wants to accomplish.
Dr. Pirzada: Zohran Mamdani is a very interesting character in American politics, in the sense that, I mean, his parents are South Asian and they’re also African. He was born in Africa. His mother was a filmmaker, a writer, an intellectual; his father was an academic. The father and I are, yes, yeah, the father of Muslim and the mother comes from a Hindu background, right? He’s an American citizen, right? In a diverse city like New York, He’s quite an American story. I mean, he’s something very unusual and very unique, as compared to his rival, Andrew Cuomo, very different.
Ms Farooqi: Who comes from a political dynasty. A Nepo baby!
Dr. Pirzada: What do you think went wrong for the Democratic Party your site in in 2024 election, what really went wrong?
Ms Farooqi: We didn’t connect with our voters, and we didn’t listen to our voters, and about 17 million Democrats stayed home. We’re not connecting with everyday Americans the way we need to.
Dr. Pirzada: Why have the Democrats not been able to connect with the everyday Americans, the common people? Why?
Ms. Farooqi: Because I don’t think they’re very good at sending messages. I think they don’t understand what the needs of I think, well, I shouldn’t say that they don’t understand the needs of everyday Americans. I think they do understand the needs of everyday Americans. They’re not willing to go out into the field and actually have conversations. Folks in DC tend to be pretty out of touch because they’re not out there door-knocking. You need to have people from a specific community to be out and about, going into churches, going into masjids, going into temples, reaching out to the community, having conversations with people, knocking on doors. There was a time when a specific union would say Vote for this candidate, and everyone would vote for that candidate in that union. Now things have shifted. There are a lot of people. Usually, unions vote for Democrats. For instance, UAW endorsed VP Kamala Harris, but a lot of people from UAW also voted for Trump.
So I think the unions do a very good job in connecting with working families, but we need to do a better job.
Dr. Pirzada: You mentioned Kamala Harris. Do you think one of the biggest mistakes was that Biden kept hanging on to our president for himself? I mean, he was clearly not fit for this race, and if he had allowed the Democratic Party to go to the primaries, the Democratic Party might have been able to elect or select a more dynamic leader. And Kamala was too late, and she wasn’t really up to it.
Ms Farooqi: I believe she did everything she could have. I just think she didn’t have enough time. And I agree with you, I think that sometimes you have to do what’s best for the country. And he obviously didn’t do that. He waited too long. He in 2022, President Biden should have said, I had my run. I’ve served my country. I think we need to nominate someone else to be the Democratic nominee for president, and things could have been a lot different, but he really hung on for too long, and that really cost us.
Dr Pirzada: A short while ago, you made a very interesting comment. You said, because they have Trump, and Trump connects with the people, it’s kind of difficult to appreciate your opponent, but what do you think are the essential winning qualities of President Donald Trump? I mean, how he connects
Ms Farooqi: Honestly, they need to teach a class on how he connects with people. Here is an incredibly wealthy man. He is building a $300 million Ballroom in the White House, especially during an affordability crisis. Yet his followers really, really support him and believe in Him. And I think I had someone kind enough to host a fundraiser for me in Kansas in September, and I went there, and one of the individuals who was at this dinner was a Republican. I mean, he was a super MAGA Republican. He’s wearing the Make America. I again had him want to make sure that I knew that he is not a Democrat.
And then we started having a conversation, and he realized, Oh, she actually cares about America, and she wants to make sure that Americans have the basic needs met, which is making sure that they have they can afford groceries and they can afford health care, and you know that we have a working democracy. And then he says to me, You know, I voted for Obama twice. Oh, so there are a lot of people, absolutely, there are people who don’t necessarily vote for parties. They vote for the candidate, and for whatever reason, Trump is able to attract certain individuals. And, you know, even within the Pakistani American community, a lot of people voted for him. Why?
Dr. Pirzada: Why do you think so many, many did it for Imran Khan?
Ms Farooqi: I think they thought that he would be able to help Imran Khan in some way, and they also felt that he wouldn’t start any wars. But he’s not a pro-war president. He takes the war of credit. I mean, he’s threatened Nigeria that we’re going to go to war with Nigeria. But he wants to take credit for that, you know, I have done eight peace agreements and ceasefires between India and Pakistan, between Iran and Israel, between Hamas and Israel, between Azerbaijan and Armenia, between Thailand and Cambodia. So he takes credit. I mean, he’s still looking for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2026.
Ms Farooqi: Bless his heart!
Dr. Pirzada: There has to be something in the man; we do need an honest discussion, there has to be something in the man that he has been able to take all these different people together, Muslims, Hispanics, you, Christian Right, young people, old people. There has to be something in them.
Ms Farooqi: So many people grew up watching him. I remember watching him in Home Alone, too, as a child. I think a lot of people grew up watching him. A lot of women read about him in the National Enquirer and People Magazine about his second, third, and first wives. So he’s a celebrity.
Dr. Pirzada: So you think it helps if a man has a second, third, fourth, fifth?
Ms. Farooqi: I don’t know if that necessarily helps.
Dr. Pirzada: Popular with a woman, right? Is it?
Ms Farooqi: He is popular with women. You’re asking me,
Dr. Pirzada: They kept on reading about him in different places. Yeah, I think a boring man who’s only married once in his life, a man who keeps on changing his wife. He’s more popular.
Ms Farooqi: I think there were a lot of scandals that he was involved in. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing, but I think, you know, my mom would, you know, go through People Magazine and see his wife? I don’t remember which wife there were three, so I don’t know, but people grew up with him, and they’ve gotten to know him. So when he decided to run for office, I think it wasn’t so hard for him to gain the kind of momentum he ended up gaining is because he’s a familiar face and personality, and
Dr. Pirzada: Because of the program apprentice.
Ms Farooqi: Absolutely, you fire.
Dr. Pirzada: I mean, we talked a lot about American politics. So I want to come back to you as to what you want to achieve in politics. But what do you think will be who and who do you think will be the presidential candidates from the Democratic Party in 2028? What are you looking at?
Ms Farooqi: I think it’s going to be Gavin Newsom from California. I do. I think he’s a smart politician. He’s intelligent. He has been very aggressive. He actually has a spine. And a lot of Democrats feel like many Democrats are capitulating to Republicans, and he’s one of those people who’s like, standing up and fighting back. And I think a lot of people can appreciate that. So I think it’s going to be Gavin Newsom. I also really appreciate AOC. I think she’s great.
Dr. Pirzada: You think AOC is going to join the presidential campaign in a Democratic primary?
Ms Farooqi: I don’t know, but I really like her. Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I really like her. I think she is amazing and very charismatic.
Dr. Pirzada: No doubt about that. She’s very charismatic, very charismatic.
Ms Farooqi: She has a good head on her shoulders, genuinely cares about the community, and is a true public servant.
Dr. Pirzada: You said Gavin Newsom. But many people I have spoken to, or I have listened to, think that Gavin is too much on the left. He’s very liberal, and he’s, I mean American voter is not prepared for such a liberal character.
Ms Farooqi: There was a time we didn’t think the American voter was prepared for President Trump, but here we are. I think, I think people like who they like. And I think if he goes out and really connects with the American people, I believe he can do it.
And keep in mind, you know, we had Obama, and then we had Trump, and I think the next president is going to be more progressive than not because more and more Democrats are getting that they’re not really happy with moderate Democrats. We’re just going to, you know, cower and not fight that.
Dr. Pirzada: There is a polarization in American politics between right and left. Do you think that the one problem the Democrats have faced, which has played a role in terms of uniting the Republican vote base, the Democrats went for two to the left?
They became very liberal when it came to homosexuals and gays and lesbians, or maybe diversity, equity, and equality. They were very left, and that actually helped Republicans unite themselves against them.
Ms Farooqi: I believe every American deserves to live freely, irrespective of who they love, irrespective of what their faith is, what the color of their skin is, and what their socioeconomic status is. Right, we can’t fight for certain people’s freedoms and not everyone, and certain people’s freedoms just get trampled upon. That’s not what America is about. So I believe that everyone deserves to live freely. I personally think that the three essentials for most people across the world are roti, kapra, makaan- the slogan of Pakistan.
Dr. Pirzada: Who gave the slogan to Pakistanis? The Roti, Kapra, Makan? Yes, yeah.
Ms. Farooqi: Was it Bhutto Sb?
Dr. Pirzada: Yes, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The essential stuff of politics is Roti, Kapra, Makan.
Ms Farooqi: The Roti, Kapra, Makaan Prama Khan, which is Bread, clothing, and housing. If people don’t have those three needs met, then they’re going to feel lost, and whoever makes them feel safe, they’re going to support that candidate. And I think that we, as Democrats, fail to connect with our base because, like I said, 17 million Democrats stayed home. President Trump didn’t win by this huge margin.
He won because 17 million Democrats stayed home. So we just had to energize our own base, excite our own base, and get our people to come out. And the way we do that is we become the leaders they want us to be. You know, those who are not going to capitulate to special interest groups or cower, you know, in the face of Republican extremism,
Dr. Pirzada: Aisha. You know, many people are going to watch this discussion beyond the borders of the United States. I mean, some of them will be in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. When you say Roti, Kapra, and Makan, many people in India and Pakistan, or Bangladesh, will be surprised that even in the United States, you think people do not have roti, kapra or makan.
Dr. Pirzada: Can you tell them something? What are the nature of problems, especially in your own community, regarding the roti kapura and makan?
Ms Farooqi: So I can tell you a couple of experiences I had when I was door-knocking last year, because I’ve run for office in the past. I knocked. I knocked on two individuals’ doors. One was an 85-year-old gentleman. And I said, What is the number one issue for you? What can I do to help improve your life? And he said, I can’t afford to buy food.
This is America. This is a senior citizen. And then I went and knocked on the door of another gentleman, 24 years old, who lives with his parents, and I said, What can I do to help improve your life? He’s like, you know, the cost of groceries is pretty high. It’s expensive. To buy food in the greatest nation in the world. I recently had a conversation with
Dr. Pirzada: With an economy of almost $30 trillion?
Ms. Farooqi: I recently had a conversation with a friend who was telling me that she is currently uninsured, and she said the reason she’s uninsured is because her husband has cancer, and it’s more important that he has insurance so they can afford to pay for the $50,000 worth that he needs to live.
So she says that, you know, with mortgage payments and paying for groceries and helping out her kids with their college tuition, it’s more important that their needs are met, and she’s currently uninsured, and the fact that in the greatest nation in the world, People are struggling like that, it’s heartbreaking.
Dr. Pirzada: I mean, we’re moving from the larger canvas of American politics to the integrity of the politics in your own 11th congressional district in Michigan. Let’s imagine that we’re lucky. You’re lucky you win the you get into the United States Congress. What will you be able to do for these people? And how will you be able to do this thing, people who do not have the food, who do not have the jobs, who do not have the health insurance? How do you plan to help them?
Ms. Farooqi: Well, one, I believe in a universal health care system. I believe health care is a human right, and the fact that we’re the only first-world nation to not have health care. It’s, it’s a little disappointing. You think of the British NHS and the German health system.
So I haven’t lived there, right? I haven’t actually experienced their health system. But what I can say is that we, as Americans, despite being born under the NHS,
Ms. Farooqi: I will tell you, my mom says that she had a great, you know, stay, and she was taking great, you know, people, the nurses, really took great care of her. They taught her how to bathe me, and, you know, take care of me. And she says, You know, they offered me great food. So I guess the system does work for those who can benefit from it, but I think that as Americans, we are known for ingenuity, and to have so many talented individuals in this country, I think that we can work on a healthcare system that provides free healthcare for every American.
Healthcare should never be so expensive that people go bankrupt simply because they get ill. And I can’t think of the exact percentage, but there’s a percentage of Americans who go bankrupt after going through cancer. So I think that
Dr. Pirzada: A few days ago, a friend of mine, you might be familiar with him, Dr Shabaz Gill, was actually telling me harrowing details of the people who had the insurance, but when the crunch time came with cancer or something with the brain, the insurance was not even covering that.
Ms Farooqi: It’s heartbreaking, exactly, exactly. It’s heartbreaking, and I don’t know how we do it, but I mean, do we expand ACA? Do we expand Medicaid, which is also being cut? Cuts are being made to Medicaid as well. Do we expand Medicare and just go with Medicare for all? I don’t know right now, but what I do know is that we need a health care system that works for every American.
Dr. Pirzada: But that’s about the United States as such. I mean, you also have responsibilities toward the potential voters who elect you for the United States Congress in the 11th congressional district. What can you do specifically for them? I mean, how would you contribute to their lives?
Ms. Farooqi: I think the one thing that we don’t take as seriously as we need to is how important it is to tax billionaires. If we’re able to tax the billionaires, then we can invest in infrastructure, and then we can make sure that our public schools have more funding. Then we can have a healthcare system that works for every single American. This idea of bringing more jobs into a district it’s a great idea, but if people can’t afford to live and they can’t afford to. Buy a home, which a lot of people can’t afford.
To buy homes right now, if people can’t afford childcare, which is why I believe in universal childcare. So many women are staying out of the workforce because they have young children, and I had a friend recently tell me she pays $45,000 for child care per year. So if you’re paying someone $52,000 for a job, and 45,000 of that goes toward child care, what incentive is there for that person to work?
Dr. Pirzada: So, Aisha, what do? What would you plan to do about the education, the schools, the youth?
Ms Farooqi: So when my sister and I were children, we attended Detroit Public Schools, and during one semester, my school was so underfunded that we didn’t have textbooks, and my teacher, Mr. White, made copies of the lesson plans, and he did it for the whole semester, paying out of his own pocket, and he did it for the whole class. And that’s something that stayed with me, and I know that I truly believe that no child’s future should be contingent upon their zip code. I think that we need to make sure we provide adequate funding for our public schools, because I believe that the foundation of any great democracy is a strong public education system.
Dr. Pirzada: What is more than a congressman, someone who gets elected from a community to the United States Congress? What more can a person, a man or woman, do for the local community? What more is possible?
Ms Farooqi: I think having a conversation with the community, seeing what the needs are, and representing them on a federal level is the way to do it.
Dr. Pirzada: So what kind of community do you have in the 11th congressional district? What is the mix of the community? I mean, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, you know, Hispanics. What kind of community do you have?
Ms. Farooqi: We have a pretty diverse community. We have a pretty diverse community, white Americans, black Americans, South Asian Americans, Latino Hispanic community, Middle Eastern community, you know, Hindu American community. There are Sikh Americans in this district as well. So we’ve got a very diverse community.
Dr. Pirzada: So, have you been to mosques and temples and synagogues and gurdwaras? You know?
Ms Farooqi: Yes, yes, I haven’t been to Gurdwara recently, but I’m planning on going. One of my aunties usually takes me, and I missed it this Diwali. But I went to a temple, this one temple, Bharatiya temple, in Troy, for the Diwali celebrations. My friend Ravi invited me. That was it’s always so much fun. And I try to go to the masjid for Friday prayers. It’s just a really nice and peaceful experience for me. And then so
Dr. Pirzada: Women go to mosques as well.
Ms. Farooqi: Oh yeah, oh yeah. Women also go to the masjid. We see a lot of young kids there as well. They come with their moms. So there are, you know, three prayers that take place for Juma prayer, Friday prayer, and women go as well, absolutely.
Dr. Pirzada: Ever since I’ve been in this country, I hear that they have to raise, even the people who are in Congress, they have to raise a lot of financing. Every week, a congressman has to raise a few $1,000 or whatever. Why is it so? Why is the congressional campaign so expensive?
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Ms Farooqi: Because in 2010, there was a Supreme Court case, Citizens United versus the VC, which basically lifted restrictions on corporations from investing in elections, and now, through packs, special packs, folks are these corporations can invest millions into various races, and they can basically buy elections. And as someone who’s running for this seat, I’m realizing how important money is.
Your viability depends on how much money you can raise as a candidate, and it’s really unfortunate that the political world, especially on a federal on the federal level, really favors the wealthy candidates, because if you can self-fund, it’s a lot easier to win elections. But if you are a public servant and you serve the community, you don’t have millions to show for it. You don’t come from a political dynasty. You have to raise money. Money through grassroots fundraising, and that can be difficult at times,
Dr. Pirzada: Just like Zohran Mamdani has done. I mean, he raised. I saw his ads while walking on the street. He says, we don’t need any more money. We have raised $8 million, which was the maximum limit for the mayoral election.
Ms Farooqi: And you know, not only is he an incredibly talented candidate, he’s also incredibly charismatic, and he has an amazing social media presence.
Dr. Pirzada: Did you hear that President Trump said that he’s actually more handsome than Zohran Mamdani? He has said that in the last 24 hours.
Ms Farooqi: Yeah, I saw that video. Once again, bless his heart.
Dr. Pirzada: So, do you want to raise money just like Zohran Mamdani, you know, making those interesting, small videos, you know, walking on the streets, asking, going, knocking on the doors. What are you doing to raise the finances?
Ms Farooqi: So the way we raise the finances is, we, you know, call folks from various communities and we say, Hi, I’m running for office with would really like your support. And I think connecting with people is one way to do it. Reaching out to folks is via phone call or going to different community events and just talking to people. That’s the way to do it. If you’re not willing to take money from corporate PACs, and I’m not taking money from a pack, I’m not taking money from Wall Street.
I’m not going to take money from big pharma, because I don’t want to be beholden to these pacts I want or these corporate, you know, interest groups. I want to be beholden to my community, then, yeah, you have to do it the old-fashioned way, the grassroots way. And people are more than welcome to visit my website and make a contribution, but yeah, I mean, we, in order to be competitive in this race, I have to raise $2 million by April of next year?
Dr. Pirzada: When is the election?
Ms. Farooqi: The election is on August 4.
Dr. Pirzada: So, I mean, are you using social media platforms like X, Twitter, Facebook?
Ms. Farooqi: We’re using, we’re using, uh, Facebook, Instagram, X, Twitter, um, tick, tock. And we don’t have as robust a program, social media program as Zohran Mamdani. But you know, we’re going to, hopefully we’re going to get there Inshallah, after he wins.
Dr. Pirzada: The election, the fundraising, has to end somewhere by April, right? That’s sort of a deadline for you.
Ms Farooqi: I mean, the reason that it’s so important for us to start raising good money now, and I say this now, as in November of 2025, is because we need to invest in a good staff. We need to invest in a very strong media program. We’re talking about TV ads, digital ads, which cost over a million dollars and and I want to make one thing very clear, none of this money goes to me.
It goes straight to the campaign. And the main purpose of raising this money is to run a campaign where we can spend, where we need to, with respect to getting our message across.
Dr. Pirzada: The TV ads will be local?
Ms. Farooqi: Yes, they will be local to the 11th district.
Dr. Pirzada: What cities or towns are in the what are the key towns in the 11th district?
Ms. Farooqi: So some of the key towns are Troy, Madison Heights. We’ve got Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Bloomfield, Bloomfield Township, West Bloomfield, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Ferndale, Commerce Township, and Waterford. There are quite a few cities, some precincts in Novi as well. Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Oak Park,
Dr. Pirzada: Are you traveling on foot in all these towns?
Ms. Farooqi: I will be. I really love door-knocking. And that’s another reason why it’s so important that we start raising good money now, because I don’t want to spend six hours per day calling people to raise money, if God willing, it would be a miracle of God if we’re able to raise the kind of good money, like two, $300,000 this month, then I can focus my time on just door knocking, and that’s What I really want to do, so I can connect with everyday people and see what my community’s needs are.
Dr. Pirzada: This is the beginning of November 2025, and when should we talk again to assess the progress of your campaign?
Ms. Farooqi: We can do it. In February. Let’s do it in February of 2026,
Dr. Pirzada: Thank you so much for finding time for this discussion. We got introduced, and we will continue to focus on this. Wish you all the best.
Ms. Farooqi: I appreciate it. Thank you.