Bangladeshi origin Nabilah vying to become a Congresswoman from Georgia

World+Biz

TBS Report
19 February, 2020, 03:15 pm
Last modified: 19 February, 2020, 05:19 pm
Nabilah Islam is a 30-year-old first-generation American whose parents left Bangladesh’s Noakhali about 40 years ago

Bangladeshi origin Nabilah Islam, a Georgia State graduate and a progressive political organiser is running in the Democratic party primary for Georgia's 7th Congressional District.

Recently, the US representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district Ilhan Omar and RO Khanna, Representative of California's 17th congressional district endorsed Nabila for the position.

Nabilah is a 30-year-old first-generation American whose parents left Bangladesh's Noakhali about 40 years ago, reports HuffPost.

Her political experience doesn't come from being elected but from worked on campaigns at the municipal, state and national levels.

She was a regional fundraising aide for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016 and worked on Carter's campaign before that, reported the NBC news.

She also worked at low-wage jobs as a young adult to help her parents pay the bills. Islam lacked health insurance which she found cost-prohibitive as she drew down her limited savings to run for Congress. After that, she made national headlines on January when she had petitioned to the Federal Election Commission to allow her to use campaign funds to purchase health coverage.

She also faced harassment for being of Muslim faith and as a result, she wanted to give people a real voice to understand people's day-to-day lives. She is also focused on regional development, particularly on transportation.

Nabilah is now competing with the other five democrat candidates to win the nomination and is advocating for Medicare and a livable wage. She would be the third Muslim woman in Congress if she is elected.

"I have a lived experience that is similar to this district, and I know what it's like to grow up here," in an interview to a local newspaper Nabilah said.

"I'm going to be a bold, progressive voice for this district and make sure the people of District 7 have a seat at the table. This district deserves someone who understands their lived experience," she added.

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