Graduate who fled persecution thanks family for their support

Tashi Tahir got her leave to remain just in time to start uni.

A student who fled Pakistan after being persecuted for her religion has graduated from St Andrews University.

Tashi Tahir was granted leave to remain in the UK just in time to accept her place at the university after a 10-year battle for asylum.

In that time, the 22-year-old had been taken into foster care when her mother suffered mental health problems and was detained at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre.

She feared she would never get to university without leave to remain status, which is granted on compelling or compassionate grounds, but yesterday she received her MA in management.

She was all smiles as she took part in the graduation procession to St Salvator’s Quadrangle.

She said: “I am the first person in my family to graduate and I couldn’t have done it without their support and their sacrifices to put me through school.”

Tashi, who was president of Refugee Action St Andrews, is now determined to use her education to fight for human rights.

Also among those to have honours conferred on them yesterday were honorary graduates Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow and Frances Morris.

Dame Julia, who was the first female vice-chancellor and president of Kent University, and is chairwoman of Public Health England and president of the Royal Society of Biology, received the title Doctor of Science in recognition of her contributions to science, health and academic leadership.

Frances Morris, director of the Tate Modern in London, who has done much to transform our understanding of modern art, became a Doctor of Letters.

Giving her graduation address, St Andrews University principal Professor Sally Mapstone said: “Your degree is an immensely special achievement.

“It represents something in your life that will stay with you and which you have the right to be very proud of.

“You now have a record in a tradition that has been taking place here since the start of the 15th Century, but you also represent the future of this wonderful university as its members stream out into the modern world to make their mark.”

Picture: Steve Brown. Tashi Tahir, who came to the UK to escape religious persecution in Pakistan.

Emily Merkel, 22, from New Jersey.

Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow.

Graduates gather together for the obligatory family photos.

All smiles as the new graduates come into the quad after the ceremony.