Ilhan Omar, AOC among 4 Women of Colour to Win in US Elections: All You Need to Know About 'The Squad'

Four US lawmakers popularly known as ‘the Squad’ were re-elected to the House of Representatives during the Presidential Elections 2020 on Tuesday.

The four progressive Congresswomen of colour — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — are all set to walk in the US Congress even after repeated racial attacks by Donald Trump and the right wing.

31-year-old Alexandria secured two more years in the Congress after defeating Republican challenger John Cummings, while 38-year-old Ilhan came out victorious over Lacy Johnson, a black IT engineer endorsed by President Trump, reports New York Post.

Meanwhile, 46-year-old Ayanna and 44-year-old Rashida has been reported to win by a large number.

Rejoicing the win, Ilan Omar took to Twitter saying, "Our sisterhood is resilient."

What is The Squad?

The Squad is a name given to the group run by the four women, all under the age of 50. They were first nominated in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections and represent the left wing of the Democratic Party.

The name was apparently coined by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been the youngest leader to ever get elected to the Congress, a week after the 2018 elections.

Since then, the group has driven various progressive measures including ambitious climate actions, advocated for health care of Americans, propagated the 'Green New Deal' plan to create jobs in the US economy by switching to electricity and renewables from fossil fuel. The Squad has increasingly become synonymous to a faction of young politicians, constantly engaged in establishing House leadership of the Democratic Party.

Who are the women constituting the Squad?

Starting with the youngest member, Alexandria, a former bartender, was born to working class Puerto Ricon parents and was brought in up in Bronx. She represents New York's 14th Congressional District, which includes the eastern Bronx and northern Queens. A member of the Democrat Socialist of America, she has introduced the Green New Deal Resolution, Medicare for All, and has been vocal about abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with highlightig the awful conditions of the migrant detention centres.

Rashida, who represents Michigan's 13th Congressional District, is the first Palestinian-American woman to have served the Congress besides being the first two Muslims women in the Congress. Born to immigrant Palestinian parents, Rashida has been an endorser of all the progressive ideas of Alexendria and has pledged for a $15 dollar minimum wage scheme. After being elected in 2018, Rashida had made headlines regarding a controversial statement made in regards to Trump, as reported by CNN.

Omar, who along with Rashida became the only two Muslim Congresswomen, represents Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. The first ever Somali-American member of the Congress, she fought to change the 181-year-old ban on hijab in the House, reports BBC. Ilhan has been quite critical about Israel's treatment of Palestinians and her controversial views regarding the same have often come under scrutiny. She has also been accused of anti-Semitism.

Ayanna became the first ever black woman to get elected to the Boston council and eventually went on to represent Massachusetts, in the Boston-area 7th Congressional District. Born in Cincinnati and raised in Ohio, she has been vocal about the impoverished state of the detained migrants and the growing humanitarian crisis in the border area. Ayanna, who has been a rape survivor, has been an advocate of abortion rights of Americans from low-income group.

Despite facing frequent vilification from Republic leader Donald Trump, who on a number of occasions asked the four to go back to where they came from, The Sqaud has once again made it clear they are staying in the Capitol Hill.

Congratulating their win, netizens took to Ilhan's post to hail the four lawmakers with many saying, "Thank goddesses for you all. We need you more than ever!"

All the four representatives of the Sqaud have been endorsed by Justice Democrats, a progressive group that has also backed two more House candidates, Jamaal Bowman in New York and Cori Bush in Missouri, who too won the 2020 race.