Ilhan Omar has made history by becoming the first Somali female legislator in the United States.
Ms Omar will be a lawmaker in the US state of Minnesota after winning House District 60B, which comprises parts of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, south-east Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio News reports.
Her win carries a “huge symbolic importance in Minnesota”, where many Somali immigrants live, the report says.
It came just days after Donald Trump accused Somali immigrants in the state of “spreading extremism”.
BREAKING: Minnesota has elected the nation’s first Somali-American lawmaker, Ilhan Omar. #Election2016 https://t.co/C8onueA3Kf pic.twitter.com/vXXLh5LPUt
— Rachel Chazin (@RachelChazin) November 9, 2016
Ms Omar said she would be a voice of the “marginalized”, the Associated Press news agency reports
“I think I bring the voice of young people,” she said. “I think I bring the voice of women in the East African community. I bring the voice of Muslims. I bring the voice of young mothers looking for opportunities,” she said.
Source: BBC
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