Bangladeshi-origin Shahana Hanif has made history by becoming the first Muslim woman elected to the New York City Council.
The former City Council employee, won her election on Tuesday in a Brooklyn district that includes Park Slope, Kensington and parts of central Brooklyn.
According to the Board of Election office, Shahana Hanif got 89 percent of the total votes. Her only rival, the Conservative Party's Brett E. Wynkoop, received only 8 percent of the vote.
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She is the first Muslim woman of South Asian heritage to serve the New York City Council. The city is home to an estimated 769,000 Muslims.
The ancestral home of Shahana is in Fatikchhari upazila of Chattogram. She is the eldest daughter of Mohammad Hanif, one of the advisers of the United States Awami League and has been active in politics in Brooklyn for a long time.
In field politics, she is known as the representative of the progressive youth generation.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Shahana said that she was “humbled and proud” to be the first Muslim woman on the Council and the first woman of any faith to represent District 39.
“Together we are building an anti-racist, feminist city,” she added.
