Historic night for Muslim women in US politics
History was made when the US elected its first two Muslim women to Congress
Dubai: History was made on Tuesday night when the US elected its first two Muslim women to Congress, following a bitter and racially-charged election cycle.
Palestinian-American lawyer Rashida Tlaib, running in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, will fill the seat vacated by John Conyers who stepped down last December.
She is set to be followed by Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American candidate from Minnesota, who will become the first Hijabi woman in Congress.
Omar comfortably won in her race, leading with 255,630 votes against Jennifer Zielinski, who finished with 69,809 votes.
The lawyer currently serves in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She became the first Somali-American legislator elected to office in the United States in 2016.
Elsewhere, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also made history, winning the race in New York’s 14th congressional district and becoming the youngest woman ever in Congress at just 29.
Ocasio-Cortez garnered attention during the summer for her surprising primary victory.