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Rana Abdelhamid

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Rana Abdelhamid
رنا عبد الحميد
Abdelhamid in 2018
Born (1993-05-06) May 6, 1993 (age 31)[1]
Queens, New York, U.S.
EducationMiddlebury College (BA)
Harvard University (MPP)
Political partyDemocratic
WebsiteCampaign website

Rana Abdelhamid (Arabic: رنا عبد الحميد; born May 6, 1993)[2] is an American political candidate and activist based in Queens, New York. Abdelhamid is also the founder of Hijabis of New York and the Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

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Abdelhamid is of Egyptian descent and grew up in New York[7][8] with three siblings. As a child, she studied karate.[5] Abdelhamid became a shotokan karate martial artist. She holds a black belt in Tai Chi karate and as a student taught young girls karate to combat race-based violence.[9]

Abdelhamid attended Middlebury College as a Posse Foundation Scholar, where she majored in international politics and economics.[10] At Middlebury, she and others organized a local chapter of Amnesty International USA.[10] After graduating from Middlebury,[11] she attended Harvard Kennedy School of Government[5] after earning a Harry S. Truman Scholarship.[10] She is a recipient of the 2015 United Nations Association of the United States of America Leo Nevas Human Rights Youth Award, and the Running Start Rising Political Star.[12]

Career

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She has spent her professional career working for Google.[13]

Malikah (formerly Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment)

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Abdelhamid first pitched her idea for a self-defense class with women teaching women to her imam at the Queens Community Centre when she was sixteen.[14] This was after she had been attacked on the street by a man who tried to take off her headscarf.[3] The class was rejected, but Abdelhamid continued to pitch the idea and held her first class for Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment (WISE) in 2010.[14] Since then, WISE chapters have been created in other parts of the United States and internationally, in Edinburgh, Dublin, and Madrid.[6] The program grew to incorporate a summer camp in New York called Mentee Muslimah.[15] Abdelhamid describes creating WISE as "part of her 'healing process,'" according to Elle.[7] She told National Catholic Reporter that so-called "hijab grabs" are a common experience for Muslim women.[16] The organization has evolved to Malikah, a global collective of women committed to building security and power for communities.[17]

Hijabis of New York

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In 2014, Abdelhamid started a social media project called "Hijabis of New York" in order to "humanize and diversify the public narratives of Muslim women who wear hijabs," according to PBS.[18] The project is hosted on Facebook and takes the form of interviews conducted by Abdelhamid accompanied by photographs from various professionals.[18] In 2017, she and Maryam Aziz of WISE, along with Robie Flores and Alison Withers created a Self-Defense Starter Kit, which includes online resources and videos for Muslim women.[19]

2022 U.S. House campaign

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See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 12

On April 14, 2021, Abdelhamid announced her candidacy for the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives election in New York's 12th congressional district against incumbent Carolyn Maloney.[20] She was endorsed by progressive group Justice Democrats, as well as New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.[21] During her campaign, Abdelhamid criticized incumbent Maloney for wearing a burqa in a speech to illustrate the oppression of women in Afghanistan. According to Abdelhamid, oppression of Afghan women is an "Islamophobic narrative" meant "to justify American wars" and that these individuals don't actually require support or "saving".[22]

Abdelhamid withdrew from the race after new district boundary maps were released. She stated in a press release,

"After nearly two years of putting together this effort, this was a very difficult decision to make. But because my community and I were cut out of our district, we were left with no other choice....The new NY-12…no longer includes Queens or Brooklyn. That means that my home and my community which includes, working class, Black and brown, Muslim and Arab immigrant communities of interest in Queens, were all divided into two districts, NY-7 and NY-14, diluting our opportunity for representation and political power.”[23]

She wrote that the newly drawn maps were “reminiscent of an ongoing legacy of noninclusive gerrymandering which continues to rob communities of interest like my own of the opportunity for representation.”[23]

Personal life

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Abdelhamid is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[24]

References

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  1. ^ Glueck, Katie (April 14, 2021). "New Target for New York's Ascendant Left: Rep. Carolyn Maloney". The New York Times.
  2. ^ السطوحي, محمد (August 6, 2021). "ترشيح رنا عبد الحميد.. هل يقلب تمثيل الحزب الديمقراطي التقليدي في نيويورك؟". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Weiss, Suzannah (January 1, 2016). "Rana Abdelhamid's Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment Teaches Self-Defense While Combatting Islamophobia". Bustle. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  4. ^ "Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment (WISE) – The Harvard Innovation Labs". The Harvard Innovation Labs. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Zoll, Rachel (December 20, 2015). "U.S. Muslim Women Debate Safety of Hijab Amid Backlash". The Brownsville Herald. Retrieved June 30, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Rana Abdelhamid – Amnesty International USA". Amnesty International USA. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Rodulfo, Kristina (January 13, 2016). "Why Young Muslim American Women Are Fighting Back". ELLE. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  8. ^ Salam, Erum (May 3, 2021). "Young, Muslim and progressive: is another AOC-style upset brewing in New York?". The Guardian. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Gebreyes, Rahel (March 14, 2016). "WISE Founder Teaches Muslim Women Self Defense To Protect Against Hate Crimes". HuffPost.
  10. ^ a b c "Middlebury Scholar Wins Truman Scholarship". Posse Foundation. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  11. ^ "Accosted for her hijab in New York, Rana Abdelhamid now teaches Muslim empowerment". The Economic Times. December 31, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  12. ^ "Rana Abdelhamid". carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  13. ^ Skelding, Conor (February 12, 2022). "Anti-corporate, socialist NYC candidate Rana Abdelhamid works for Google". New York Post. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  14. ^ a b White, April (May 16, 2016). "Stand and Deliver". Middlebury Magazine. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  15. ^ "Once accosted for her hijab, 22-year-old woman now teaches Muslim empowerment". Daily News & Analysis. December 31, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  16. ^ Fiedler, Maureen (December 30, 2016). "The religious implications of the Trump election". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  17. ^ "Rana Abdelhamid". Growth from Failure. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Sarabia, Alexandra (February 4, 2016). "Meet the women of 'Hijabis of New York'". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  19. ^ McNamara, Brittney. "This Self-Defense Toolkit Will Prepare You for ANYTHING". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  20. ^ Glueck, Katie (April 14, 2021). "New Target for New York's Ascendant Left: Rep. Carolyn Maloney". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  21. ^ Krieg, Gregory (April 14, 2021). "Justice Democrats-backed activist Rana Abdelhamid challenges Rep. Carolyn Maloney in New York". CNN.
  22. ^ "Rep. Maloney defends wearing burqa, as the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan triggers debate in the NY-12 Democratic primary". NY1. August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  23. ^ a b Murray, Christian (June 2, 2022). "Astoria Progressive Bows Out of Congressional Race Due to Redistricting". Jackson Heights Post. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  24. ^ Axelrod, Tal (April 14, 2021). "NY Democratic chair blasts primary challenge against Maloney". The Hill.


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