It’s a historic moment in Connecticut politics - Maryam Khan is the first Muslim woman to be endorsed as a candidate for the Connecticut House of Representatives.
“As a woman, as a woman of color, as an immigrant, a teacher, young person, there's a lot of diversity that I bring to the state legislature,” Khan said.
Maryam was nominated for Connecticut’s 5th District seat, representing Windsor and Hartford, and it's representation she says is part of her motivation, setting an example for young Muslim women.
“At their age, I didn't know what local politics was. I didn't know what people could do to be involved and I didn't think that there would be room for me in a place like that. So I'm happy that they're able to have that and they're able to see that, you know, you can be both Muslim and you can be, you know, part of your community,” Khan said.
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The 33-year-old mother of three is also an educator at heart. She is a special education teacher, a four-year member of the Windsor Board of Education, and a former mentor to young women at her mosque, who hopes to bring the issues of educators to the forefront of legislators’ minds.
“My big concern for our schools is if we are having teachers leave the field within their first couple years, or their first five years, what is school going to look like in the next 10,15, 20 years?” Khan said.
Maryam will have to secure the seat during a Special Election on March 1.
