Ilhan Omar, elected from Minnesota, makes history as being first Somali-American, Muslim woman legislator
The United States has elected its first legislator who wears a head scarf in this Tuesday's much-awaited Presidential, Senate and House elections.
Ilhan Omar made history as being the first Somali-American, Muslim woman legislator to win a seat in the House of Representatives. Omar was elected from the mid-west state of Minnesota.
The victory of 34-year-old Muslim-American woman who wears the hijab is significant in the U.S. elections.
Born in Somalia, Omar, and her family escaped civil war and lived for four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before ultimately moving to the Somali-American neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside, where she has lived for nearly two decades and is currently director of policy initiatives at Women Organizing Women, according to local media.
The Women Organizing Women Network is a group dedicated to pushing East African women into civic leadership and is credited with being a talented organizer and leader of a multiracial coalition that includes Minneapolis progressives.
