Rep. Ilhan Omar.Photo: KEREM YUCEL/AFP/Getty
Ilhan Omaris making history as one of the America’s first Muslim women in Congress — and now she’s poised to change history, too.
The Democratic representative from Minnesota announcedon Instagram Sundaynight that she’s working on an initiative to overturn a 181-year rule banning House members from wearing hats, which could also inhibit Omar from wearing a headscarf for religious reasons.
According to House.gov, the House ban on headwear was put in place in 1837 and has been a heated topic ever since. Over the years, many members have appreciated the symbolism of no hats because it distinguished U.S. government traditions from those of the U.K., but others have insisted that hats are “harmless.”
The Washington Postreported on Friday that House Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rules Committee ranking Rep. Jim McGovern and Omar, all Democrats, co-authored a proposal to accommodate religious headwear along with several other fixes. Examples include establishing an independent diversity office and banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Omar was born in Somalia and moved to the U.S. when she was 12 after the civil war broke out. According toThe New Yorker, at the time, the only English she knew was “hello” and “shut up.”
Earlier this month, after winning hermidterm election, she became the first Somali-American congresswoman in U.S. history. She and Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib are the first two Muslim women in Congress.
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“Here in Minnesota, we don’t only welcome immigrants; we send them to Washington,” Omar told supporters at a victory party, according totheMinneapolis Star-Tribune.
“I stand here before you tonight, as your congresswoman-elect, with many firsts behind my name,” she continued,The Postreports. “The first woman of color to represent our state in Congress … The first refugee ever elected to Congress, and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.”
source: people.com
