Muslim Woman Paves the Political Way in Minnesota

December 30, 2005

Source: Woman's Press

http://www.womenspress.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=3&ArticleID=2163

On December 30, 2005 the Woman's Press reported, 'When [Farheen] Hakeem announced her candidacy for mayor of Minneapolis, she became the first Muslim-American woman to run in Minnesota and, at 29, one of the youngest candidates ever. After seven months working with a fraction of her opponents' budgets, Hakeem won 14 percent of the vote in the September primary. She was particularly encouraged by the support she found in south Minneapolis. Supporters will see her pounding the pavement again: she's planning to run in the 2006 elections, though she hasn't yet decided for which office... A few years ago she would never have imagined running for office... But, she noted, 'As women of color, our communities have so much of a need and who else is there to empower our communities?'... 'I would never trade it for the world,' Hakeem said of the experience. 'I was the litmus test. Nobody knew what to expect, neither did I.' Now that she knows what kind of support is out there, she can tell others that there's nothing to fear."