Who is Fatima Payman? Australian senator goes viral over bizarre 'skibidi' Gen-Z speech in parliament

On September 11, 2024, Fatima Payman made headlines with her speech at the Australian Parliament which comprised Gen-Z lingo such as "skibidi" and "goofy ahh".

Born in 1995 in Kabul, Afghanistan, Fatima is an Australian politician who served as a senator for Western Australia since 2022, primarily for the Labor Party and later as an independent candidate.

Her Gen-Z slang speech at the parliament became the topic of discussion on social media, given Fatima gave multiple meme references in her speech.

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Fatima Payman is the third youngest member of the Australian Senate

Fatima migrated to Perth with her family in 2003. She attended the Australian Islamic College and later went to the University of Western Australia where she studied Pharmaceutical Science. Moreover, the Australian politician was an organizer for the United Workers Union and the president of Young Labor WA.

In 2022 she was elected to the Australian Senate as a senator for Western Australia and became the third youngest member to be elected to the Senate. Fatima is also the first Muslim member of the parliament to wear a hijab.

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"This goofy ahh government have been capping": Fatima Payman mentioned in viral parliament speech

In her recent speech at the Parliament, Fatima Payman aimed at speaking about opposing the government's proposed social media ban for children in Australia indicating that young Australians are unable to have their opinions heard in the parliament.

Additionally, Fatima also talked about the cost of living crisis in Australia, about the government being dishonest regarding taxes, and encouraged the Australian youth to vote when they became age-appropriate.

Fatima Payman began her speech by addressing the "sigmas of Australia" and stated:

"I say that this goofy ahh government have been capping not just now but for a long time. A few of you may remember when they said there will be no fanum tax under the government I lead."

She also accused the government of being "capaholics" and "yapaholics" stating they "yap nonstop" about the cost of living measures changing the lives of Australians. Fatima then stated "just put the fries in the bag little bro" referring to the 2022 meme posted on Facebook wherein the individual said, "just put the ketchup in my bag bro".

The Australian politician mentioned that the politicians are focused on improving the housing situation in the country and went on to say that "they must have brain rot from watching too much Kai Cenat". Talking about the politicians forgetting about their plans to ban children under 14 from social media, Fatima Payman said that if the ban becomes a law:

"You can forgo skull emoji, all about watching Duke Dennis or catching a dub with the bros on Fort Chat, is this prime minister serious?"

She then mentioned that the prime minister of Australia acts like he's the senator of Ohio. Fatima said that she'd be taking an L which is a slang term for failure or setback, if she didn't address the ops who want to cut the WA's Guards and Services tax.

Highlighting the importance of voting, Fatima Payman stated that the decision that the voters would make in the elections would be between a "mid government" "a dog water opposition or a crossbench". Encouraging young voters to vote for a government with "more aura", Fatima ended her speech with a "skibidi".

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The speech Fatima Payman delivered was written by Ezra Isma, the senator's 21-year-old policy advisor. Ezra mentioned that he wouldn't use the language used in the speech outside the chamber and mentioned that he would use it with friends sometimes ironically, "but never a genuine use".