Once again, American Muslim women have made history with Maryam Khan of Windsor becaming first Muslim elected to Connecticut’s House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Khan won Tuesday’s special election to the 5th House District of Windsor and Hartford.
The special education teacher at A.I. Prince Technical High School in Hartford will be sworn into office Monday, CT Insider reported.
“Thank you Windsor & Hartford for believing in me. This victory is ours!” Khan tweeted.
The four-year member of the Windsor Board of Education, and former mentor to young women at her mosque, hopes to bring the issues of educators to the forefront of legislators’ minds.
Khan will be the second Muslim elected to the General Assembly. The first was Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, a medical doctor specializing in pulmonology and critical care medicine.
She first won board of Education seat in Windsor in 2017. Then she was re-elected in November 2021 to the Board of Education for Windsor.
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Nadia Kahf was nominated to serve as a state Superior Court judge in New Jersey
History Makers
In another state, Nadia Kahf, a family law attorney from Wayne, is poised to become one of just a handful of Muslim women to serve as a state Superior Court judge in New Jersey, North Jersey reported.
Gov. Phil Murphy nominated Kahf earlier this week. If confirmed by state legislators, she would serve in Passaic County.
“I’m overwhelmed and very happy and very honored as well,” said Kahf, 50, in an interview. “I’m happy the bench is going to reflect the residents of New Jersey and that we are moving toward that.”
Murphy also nominated Rahat Babar, a former deputy attorney general who oversees litigation for the governor’s office, for a seat on the Superior Court in Mercer County.
Babar is a former director of community engagement at the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and past president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania.
US Muslims celebrated historic win in November elections that took place in more than 30 states across the country.
Shama Haider, of Tenafly, and Sadaf Jaffer, of Montgomery Township, were elected to the New Jersey Assembly in the November election, becoming the first Muslims to serve in the state Legislature.