The Democratic is poised to make history
A Palestinian-American, Rashida Tlaib is set to become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress after comfortably winning her Democratic primary election in the US state of Michigan. No Republicans or third-party candidates entered the primary, meaning she will win the seat in November’s election for a two-year term that will begin in January 2019.
Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, first made history in 2008 when she was elected State Representative and became the first Muslim woman to hold this position. From 2009 to 2014, she served in the Michigan House and helped to secure millions of dollars for free health clinics, Meals on Wheels programs for seniors and before and after school education funding, according to her campaign website. In 2016 she was detained for disrupting a Donald Trump speech.
“I’m going to push back against everything that’s so un-American that’s coming out of this administration,” Tlaib explained in a speech following her win. “My grandmother told me never to let a bully tell me, “Can I do this?” or “You can’t do this.”
In addition to fighting for immigration reform, the mother of two says that some of her main priorities once elected to Congress will be to raise the minimum wage, to fight for equal pay for women and to prevent cuts to social security and healthcare.
Celebrities such as Kristen Stewart and Cate Blanchett have also been standing up against gender-based discrimination.
