She became the nation’s first Somali American lawmaker. A month later, she was harassed in a D.C. cab for being Muslim.

Less than one month after being elected, Ilhan Omar visited the nation’s capital for policy training at the White House, her historic role didn’t stop a cab driver from targeting her for her religion. Riding in a taxi en route to her hotel Tuesday, after having spent the afternoon at the White House, she “became subjected to the most hateful, derogatory, islamophobic, sexist taunts and threats” she had ever experienced, she wrote in a post on social media.

“The cab driver called me ISIS and threatened to remove my hijab,” she wrote. “I wasn’t really sure how this encounter would end as I attempted to rush out of his cab and retrieve my belongs.”

Share Button

Sources

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/12/08/she-became-the-nations-first-somali-american-lawmaker-a-month-later-she-was-harassed-in-a-d-c-cab-for-being-muslim/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-national%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.6006922cac36