Aysha Raza obituary

My friend Aysha Raza, who has died of a stroke aged 52, was a neuroscientist and naturalist, and a Labour councillor for the London borough of Ealing. Representing the Central Greenford ward from 2014 until her death, Aysha was the first Muslim woman to serve on the cabinet of Ealing council, with a focus on tackling crime and inequality. She was also an active member of the Ealing Wildlife Group (EWG), a community-led conservation and rewilding organisation. The group is one of the partners in the Ealing Beaver Project, which was set up to establish a beaver colony in Paradise Fields, a nature reserve in Aysha’s ward. As well as being involved as a volunteer in the project, Aysha liaised with Ealing council to select a suitable site and get permission to establish the colony there. Other EWG projects include supporting the peregrine falcons that nest on Ealing hospital and carrying out harvest mouse releases in nature reserves across the borough. In the 2025 David Attenborough documentary Wild London, Aysha can be seen releasing a harvest mouse at Paradise Fields. Born in Aberdare, Wales, to Sabiha (nee Rahman), a council administrator, and Asghar Raza, a civil engineer, Aysha grew up in Ealing. She attended Oldfield and Coston primary schools, and Notting Hill and Ealing high school, where she and I met on our first day in 1985. She developed an interest in nature from an early age, and through youth activities with the London Wildlife Trust she was thrilled to meet Attenborough and another naturalist hero, David Bellamy. At school, she loved being out in the countryside on Duke of Edinburgh award expeditions, and after completing her A-levels, she took part in a green turtle conservation project in Sindh province, Pakistan. She then studied anatomy and developmental biology at University College London, where she remained after her BSc degree (1995) to undertake a neuroscience PhD – helping to further the understanding of Huntington’s disease. Aysha continued her scientific work through several postdoctoral appointments but, following a decline in funding, she decided instead to stand for election in Ealing as a Labour councillor, building on previous political campaigns she had joined to save NHS hospitals in west London. She was dedicated to her constituents, memorably acting in the annual pantomime staged by the Holy Cross Players. She served as a trustee or governor for numerous organisations in her ward, including Stanhope primary school, which has a house named after her and a “Be Like Aysha” award. She was warmly regarded in the Labour movement and the west London Muslim community. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, spoke at her funeral at Harrow Central mosque. Aysha loved singing, dancing, Hollywood and Bollywood movies, gardening and fossil hunting. She was known for her hearty laugh, energy and sense of style – often featuring her favourite colour purple and always Dr Martens boots – and for unfailingly showing up for friends and family. Aysha is survived by her mother, her sister, Saira, and her brother, Adil.