By Ilhan Omar
— As told by Amani Salahudeen
“There are those kinds of policies that oftentimes get created because people who have blindspots are in positions of influence and positions of power,” Ilhan Omar told The New York Post in December. “I think it will be really exciting to see the stuff that we notice within the rules that don’t work for a modern-day America.”
Ilhan Omar is a 37-year-old American-Somali women, and as many of you know, she made history by becoming the first American Somali to represent the U.S. for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. Additionally, she is the first hijab-wearing Muslim to serve in Congress. Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia and she attended North Dakota State University. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Affairs back in 2011, and in 2016, Omar was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Omar’s mother passed away when she was just a child, and so she was raised by her grandfather and her father. As a Muslim American woman wearing the hijab, Omar gives other young Muslim women hope that one day they too can be change-makers in Congress, thus exerting further agency in decisions that affect their lives.
As a Muslim American woman wearing the hijab, Omar gives other young Muslim women hope that one day they too can be changemakers in Congress, thus exerting further agency in decisions that affect their lives.
A fun fact that you might not know about Omar is that her first name, “Ilhan,” is of Turkish origin, and means “prince.” Omar was a refugee in a Kenyan camp back in 1991, and her family moved to the U.S. 23 years ago after seeking asylum. She learned English in about three months, and when she was elected to the House of Representatives in Minnesota, she unseated “the longest-serving House Representative in Minnesota.” Omar has one daughter named Isra Hisri.
In the time since she was sworn into office, Rep. Omar has faced a tsunami of thinly-veiled Islamophobic and anti-Black attacks. Her “American-ness” has been questioned by a Fox News host as “antithetical to the Constitution” because of her hijab, and she has repeatedly been called an anti-Semite because of her vocal support for Palestine. Through all of the unhinged attacks and death threats, Rep. Omar’s voice has remained steadfast in her determination for justice and equality.
As a Muslim American woman wearing the hijab, Omar gives other young Muslim women hope that one day they too can be changemakers in Congress, thus exerting further agency in decisions that affect their lives.
“I wear a hijab and that’s going to be a problem, but once one person is able to do that, it then allows other people to dream too,” she recently told The Guardian.