Wonder Woman of the Week: Ilhan Omar

Last night's 2018 Midterm elections in the United States resulted in a record-breaking number of women elected to US Congress- one of which was Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Omar was born in Somalia just before the 1991 outbreak of a violent civil war in the country. After her family fled the country and lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for four years, Ilhan's family moved to the United States. After a brief time in Virginia, Ilhan's family moved to Minnesota. Ilhan attended high school and quickly learned English while attending local and state political meetings with her grandfather who stressed the importance of democracy to his young granddaughter. After graduating from high school, Ilhan went on to earn her Bachelor's degree from North Dakota State University and started her career in politics.

Ilhan Omar entered her political career in 2012 when she managed the 2012 Kari Dziedzic reelection campaign for the Minnesota State Senate. In 2013, Omar managed Andrew Johnson's campaign for Minneapolis City Council and served as the elected official's Senior Policy Aide for the next two years. Her tenure under the title incurred violent opposition when five assailants attacked Omar in 2014. Omar persisted though and in 2015 she became the Director of Policy & Initiatives of the Women Organizing Women Network to help organize and progress women's rights in East Africa.

In 2017, Ilhan Omar became a Representative to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent Minneapolis in the state House. During her time in the state's Congress, Omar worked to support the LGBTQ community, worked to increase the minimum wage, decrease the cost of college tuition, and served as the Assistant Minority Leader. She is also a vocal advocate for the rights of Muslims in both the United States and abroad.

In 2018, Ilhan Omar became one of the two first Muslim women elected to the United States House of Representatives (tying for the record with Michigan's Rashida Tlaib). The successful campaign came after years of both adversity and award. In 2015, Omar earned the Community Leadership Award for her work in supporting immigrants and refugees in Minneapolis. In 2017, Omar earned a spot on Time Magazine's list of "Women who are changing the world."