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The mid-term elections saw two Muslim women triumph for the first time in US history. They are Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the first born in Somalia and the second daughter of Palestinian immigrants.
First times
The mid-term elections saw the Republicans win new seats in the Senate but losing them in Congress. This could mean a less clear-cut victory than expected for the Democrats who, however, have shown that minorities are the key to the future. A result that became even more evident with the election of 29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and the election of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib in Minnesota and Michigan.
The first time for each of the elected women who manage to stem the stereotypes that go along with women and immigration, giving a hard blow to those who hope for an America in the old West style.
Rashida Tlaib
Rashida was born in 1976 in Detroit to Palestinian parents who emigrated first to Nicaragua and finally to the States. Having entered politics in 2004, Tlaib has always stood out for her commitment to the Arab-Israeli conflict and she particularly supports the idea of a single state.
Unfortunately, her policy in favor of Palestine has provoked her many detractors in the United States, but they have not been enough to hinder her in the race for Congress. The new deputy has in fact triumphed with 90% of total preferences. Her incredible achievement led her to become the first Muslim woman to fill this role, joined shortly after by Ilhan Omar.
Ilhan Omar, from Somalia to the USA
The MP from Minnesota is instead elected with 78% but her story is very different from that of the Tlaib. Ilhan Omar was born in 1982 in Raas Cabaad in Somalia, the youngest of 7 siblings, she has been orphaned of her mother since childhood and is raised by her father and grandmother.
In 1991 the family was forced to flee to Kenya due to the outbreak of the war and lived for 4 years in a refugee camp.
In 1995 the family finally manages to emigrate to the States where Ilhan will do his utmost in studying, even managing to win a scholarship to the state university. Meanwhile, Omar wasted no time in politics by becoming one of the most prominent members of the Women Organizing Women Network site. The “Real American Dream”.
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