Later that day Omar stood with her six-year-old daughter Ilwad on the House floor A guest told Ilwad that someday she might be in Congress too Ilwad said no She said she would be president More than 20 years earlier Omar first set foot in Washington DC She had come with her family from a refugee camp in Kenya Now she had returned to Washington to become the first Somali American member of Congress In more ways than one this 116th Congress was more diverse than ever before A record 102 women were serving in the House of Representatives Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland were Congress’s first two American Indian women And Omar was one of the first two Muslim women in Congress Rashida Tlaib was the other Omar looked forward to working with the other members of Congress new and old For example 6
Omar’s daughter Ilwad rests her chin on her mother’s shoulder in the House chamber she had looked up to Representative John Lewis for many years This civil rights leader had served in Congress for more than 30 years Now Omar Lewis and others would be working together to help the people of the United States 7
EARLY LIFE Ilhan Omar was born on October 4 1982 in Mogadishu Somalia She was raised in the town of Baidoa a few hours northwest of Mogadishu When Ilhan was a little girl her grandfather told her the same folktale every day It was about a Somali queen named Araweelo The women in Araweelo’s kingdom were rulers The men were their subjects Araweelo was wise and just Ilhan hoped to be like her someday Much of Somalia including Baidoa is in a desert climate 9 CHAPTER 2
