Early Life and Education
Zaynub Akbar, now one of Plaid Cymru's newly elected Members of the Senedd (MS), experienced a challenging childhood marked by instability and poverty. Despite these hardships, she attended one of Wales' most prestigious schools through a bursary and became a Team GB gymnast.
Akbar grew up without a permanent home but has since committed to using her political position to address the stark inequalities she witnessed firsthand. Representing Caerdydd Ffynon Taf as one of three MSs, the 28-year-old aims to tackle poverty in Wales and promote the development of "cohesive communities" amid what she describes as "dangerous rhetoric taking over politics at the moment."
"The reason I'm there is because of those experiences I've had... I have a duty to highlight those issues," she told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement.
Describing her childhood as "very complicated" with "lots of positives, lots of negatives to it," Akbar shared that her grandfather emigrated from India to Wales in 1939 and became one of the city's first taxi drivers. Her father, born in Cardiff's docks area known for high deprivation, also worked as a taxi driver.
During her teenage years, Akbar faced a lack of stable accommodation. While she chose not to elaborate on her personal circumstances, she emphasized her father's determination to provide her with educational opportunities he never had.
"My dad really made a conscious effort to make sure we were doing anything and everything, from the minute we woke up to the minute we went to sleep," she said.
"He made a really conscious effort to essentially do the complete opposite of what he experienced."
Akbar earned a bursary to attend Howell's Girls School, a fee-paying institution, after passing an entrance exam. She described the teachers there as very supportive. Most of her schoolmates were unaware of her home situation, except for her closest friends who occasionally provided her with a place to stay.
"I don't think anyone has really known the scale of it until I started talking about it in the last few months," she said.
Experiencing the wealth gap between herself and her more affluent peers influenced her political views. She recounted attending parties at large houses with pools and abundant privilege, then returning to uncertainty about where she would sleep or find her next meal.
"Going through those really formative years, it would be really tricky at times.
"I would go to these huge houses... parties with pools in the back and infinite amounts of money and privilege, and then go home and not know where I'm sleeping or where my next meal is coming from.
"At some point, not knowing what sofa I was going to sleep on that night.
"So it was really difficult under those circumstances and I don't think I'd really processed a lot of that until I turned into an adult."
Gymnastics and Its Impact
From a young age, Akbar spent significant time at local leisure centres training in gymnastics, which also provided her with a place to wash. She was careful to state that her father should not be blamed for broader societal issues.
"There are so many families and parents who are really struggling, and that doesn't mean they shouldn't have children, as so many people think," she added.
Gymnastics played a pivotal role in her upbringing and acted as a social equalizer. By age 10, she was competing for Wales, and by 16, she represented Great Britain.
"Gymnastics really saved me, because I had something that money couldn't buy," she said.
"And I was able to always come back to that and that sense of purpose in my life."
She noted that elite gymnastics at a young age demands considerable mental and physical energy but provided her with clear focus.
"It was a full-time job on the side as a child."
Akbar eventually left the sport, feeling she had "exhausted all avenues."
Political Career and Advocacy
Akbar's interest in politics was sparked by her personal experiences growing up.
After a brief period working in journalism, she decided to move beyond observing politics and entered the field of policy and public affairs, working at Sport Wales. Subsequently, she transitioned into party politics and stood as a Plaid Cymru candidate in the May Senedd election.
Earlier in the week, Akbar was among the Members of the Senedd who exited the chamber during a speech by a Reform MS. The speech included a joke suggesting Welsh students are unable to read and claimed that Indian nurses were taking Welsh jobs.
