It was under the iron fist of a religious dictatorship the defiance of Mehreen Faruqi, the "proud unionist and feminist" poised to replace Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, first took root.
Dr Faruqi was raised in Lahore, Pakistan, as the daughter of an engineer.
At 15 years old, she recounts in her inaugural speech to NSW Parliament, her country slipped into dictatorship and she could only watch as rights were stripped from women and minority groups.
She became a civil engineer in an act of defiance against a male-dominated society.
"I had grand ambitions of breaking down the barriers which oppressed the women in my community," she said - conceding she was only able to cause "one mere dent".
"But what are social movements if not thousands of individual dents, collectively bringing down old structures?"
She left for Australia in 1992 with her young family in tow.
She enrolled at the University of NSW, attaining a masters and doctorate in environmental engineering in 2000.
From there Dr Faruqi headed up environmental projects for companies and councils in Sydney and the NSW mid-north coast while working as an academic.
She joined the Greens in 2004 because the party "closely aligned" with her views on the environment and social issues, she says in an online biography.
She became the first Muslim woman elected to any Australian parliament when she entered the NSW Legislative Council in 2013.
As a foreign-born Australian, she said at the time, her story "belongs to many".
"My inclusion in this Parliament reflects the promise that brought my family and millions of families like ours to this country," she said.
Senator Rhiannon on Friday announced Dr Faruqi would take her place in Canberra's upper house when she retires 10 months early, in mid-August.
Dr Faruqi, speaking to AAP on Friday, thanked Senator Rhiannon "for her long and passionate service to the Greens, the people of Australia and her extraordinary work for social and environmental justice".
She said she would continue to push the party's vision on climate change, workers rights and multiculturalism.
"We Greens are a thorn in the side of the establishment," she said.
"And I will focus on breaking the cycle of vested interests that undermine our democracy, destroy our environment, and foster inequality that only benefits the big end of town."
"Now is the time to step up the fight and be fearless."
