Ilhan Omar is a Somali-born American lawmaker who currently serves as a member of the United States’ House of Representative for Minnesota’s District 5, having been elected in 2018. In 2016, she served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 60B district, where she became the first naturalized African, and one of the first two Muslim women to occupy the position.

She started her career in 2006 as a Community Nutrition Educator with the University of Minnesota for three years before moving on to the Minnesota Department of Education as the Coordinator for child nutrition campaign. At about the same time, she made a bold dabble into politics, working with Kari Dziedzic as Campaign Manager for his senatorial re-election. In 2015, she fully launched into advocacy, working as the Director of Policy Initiatives of the Women Organizing Women Network, through which she advocated the inclusion of East African women in political leadership.

She went into elective politics in 2016, when she contested and won the Minnesota House of Representatives election under the platform of Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL). Her tenure in the state legislature was defined by the spearheading and enactment of different bills, particularly for advancing the standard of living in the state. Her achievements delivered her political victory when she went a step further to contest a seat in the US House of Representatives in 2018. Since then, she has continued to promote people-friendly laws including the free tuition for indigent college students, access sound health care for all, and cancelation of students’ meal debts incurred by low low-income earning families in the US.

She also advocates the promotion of human rights in the crisis-torn Yemen through her public criticisms of Saudi-Arabia’s intervention in the state. She is a world-class advocate with leadership that demonstrates clear concerns for better welfare for humanity; Ilhan Omar is our woman of the week.

Sources

1. O’Grady, Siobhán (2018). Trump demonized Somali refugees in Minnesota. One of them just won a seat in Congress. The Washington Post. https://web.archive.org/web/20190313005712/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/11/07/trump-demonized-somali-refugees-minnesota-one-them-just-won-seat-congress/?utm_term=.9bb3be948c54
2. Armin Rosen. (2018). https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/263826/as-keith-ellison-leaves-congress-one-likely-replacement-faces-criticism-for-anti-israel-views
3. Ilhan’s Story (n.d.). https://web.archive.org/web/20161106032533/https://www.ilhanomar.com/bio
4. Ryan Faircloth. (2016). Debate spotlights veteran, newcomers. Minnesota Day. https://www.mndaily.cOm/article/2016/08/debate-spotlights-veteran-newcomers
5. Ola Salem (2018). Saudi Arabia Declares War on America’s Muslim Congresswomen. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/11/saudi-arabia-declares-war-on-americas-muslim-congresswomen/

Schuster started her professional career as an academic, before making a switch into the financial industry. She first ventured into mainstream politics in 2005 when she contested and won a seat at the German Bundestag representing Roth constituency under the umbrella of the Free Democratic Party. No sooner had she assumed office that she was delegated with the responsibility to deputizing the head of the Consumer Protection and Home Affairs’ Committee. She made a clear stand with United Nations policies that promotes the supply of humanitarian aids to some crises-infested states in Africa, including Somalia and Dafur in 2007 and 2008, and Sudan in 2009.

Without any hassle, she secured a return to the house in the 2009 elections, and served in different positions in the same year. She was the spokeswoman for the Committee on Human Right and Humanitarian Aids, as well as the German delegate to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, and as member of Committee on Foreign Relations as a member. As human rights advocate, she co-initiated an open letter to the authoritarian regime of Dmitry Medvedev to forestall his abuses of human rights in Russia, criticized illegitimate arrest of political oppositions in Europe, represented the Council of Europe to observe the 2011 Tunisian elections; and raised awareness in Africa on human’s inalienable rights. She also served as General Rapporteur on the abolition of death penalty, and was a vibrant campaigner for United Nations supports for peace-keeping mission in South Sudan in 2012, and Mali in 2013.

Schuster has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Regensburg. She belongs to the Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Interparliamentary Group, an international network of politicians committed to the promotion of human rights. She is well known for her contributions to the promotion of human rights, international conflict resolutions, and peace and security in Africa. Marina Schuster is our woman of the week.

Sources

1. Marina Schuster. Wayback Machine Council of Europe.
2. Aid, political and economic ties focus of German minister’s Africa visit. Ethiopian Review.
3. Text of letter to President Medveved. Financial Times
4. Abgeordnete 16. Wahlperiode: Schuster Marin. Deutscher Bundestag.

Lilian made formal her interest in a cooking career when she moved to the United Kingdom in 1978 to burnish her culinary skills through self-training. By the sheer force of passion, she was able to arrange her insightful thoughts on recipes, and communicate how culture and geography could combine to influence food habits. After years of a successful career in London, she went on to establish the Asian Women of Achievements Awards in 1999 to celebrate the Asian females who have blazed the trails in their respective careers. Subsequently she founded Spice Magic Limited in London to provide quality services in cookery and catering, taking the name from her first published cookbook in 2001, ‘Spice Magic: An Indian Culinary Adventure’.

In 2006, she initiated another award, ‘Women of the Future Awards’ to encourage young women in business in the UK and build a formidable mentorship platform that would transform the food industry. The following year, she established the ‘Women of the Future Network’ to bring together women, both experienced and inexperienced, for business connections. ‘The Future Awards’ in South East Asia after a decade. Lilani has, through her several award presentations, stimulated UK and international business ecosystem for women’s participation, and assisted restaurants to improve profitability.

She is an alumnus of Calcutta University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Education and English in 1974 and holds a Graduate Diploma in Social Communication Media and Management Studies from the University of Bombay, India, and the Council of National Academic Awards, UK.

Lilani stands out from the crowd due to her strong advocacy in women empowerment, mentorship to young females, and her business advice that have transformed growth in the food industry. Pinky Lilani is our woman of the week.

Sources

Spice Magic, Discovery through Food. www.spicemagic.com

Woman’s Hour. Pinky Lilani. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/g1f5Hn25f6wrdRQyLNR4tP/pinky-lilani-obe/

Pinky Lilany CBE DL. https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/about-us/people/pinky-lilani-cbe-dl/

The Edge. Pinky Lilali. https://www.theedge-uk.com/view/pinky-lilani/

Womanthology. Pinky Lilani. http://www.womanthology.co.uk/celebrating-15th-asian-women-achievement-awards-nominations-awards-co-founder-pinky-lilani-obe/

In 2014, the Islamic State attacked the Yazidi minority community in Iraq killing many including Nadia’s mother, six of her brothers and many of her nieces. The Islamic State took Nadia and other Yazidi women into captivity for several months subjecting them to sexual abuse and violence. She was able to escape and has since been working to support Yazidi survivors and defend the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.

Nadia was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for her efforts towards ending sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. She is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Nadia Murad is our Woman of the Week because she represents hope for the end of sexual violence and for all women who are victims of sexual violence.

Sources:

Nadia Murad – Facts – 2018. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019.Tue.07 May 2019, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2018/murad/facts/

Stand Up for Human Rights. Human Rights Champions: Nadia Murad, Tue. 07 May 2019, https://www.standup4humanrights.org/EN/hr-champions-nmurad.html

Financial Times. Nadia Murad: I survived Isis. Now I want to rebuild the Yazidi homeland, Tue. 07 May 2019, https://www.ft.com/content/f28c4184-f823-11e8-af46-2022a0b02a6c

Leaving Pakistan for the United Kingdom for treatment in 2012 after the attack, she began schooling in Birmingham and has since then continued her advocacy for girls’ rights. In 2014, she was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest person to receive the prize at the age of 17. She was accepted to the University of Oxford in 2017 to study philosophy, politics and economics. Malala is our Woman of the Week because she represents audacity and hope for the future of girls’ rights and education.

Sources:

Biography.com Editors. Malala Yousafzai Biography, Fri. 15 Feb 2019,
https://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253

Malala Yousafzai – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019. Fri. 15 Feb
2019, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/yousafzai/biographical/