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Bushra Amiwala

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Bushra Amiwala
Bushra Amiwala speaking at TRT World, in Istanbul, Turkey
Personal details
Born (1997-12-30) December 30, 1997 (age 27)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationDePaul University (BS)
Northwestern University (MBA)

Bushra Amiwala (born December 30, 1997)[1] is an American activist,[2] politician and public speaker.[3] As of April 2019, Amiwala was one of the first Gen Z women to become an elected official in the United States. [4][5][6][7] She was also the youngest Muslim elected official in the United States at the time.[8][9][10] Amiwala has been listed in the Chicago History Museum with both of these historical accolades. [8][11]

Amiwala was a Democratic candidate for the Cook County Board of Commissioners in the 2018 Illinois primary election. She lost to the then 16-year incumbent Larry Suffredin in the Democratic primary election on March 20, 2018.[12] Suffredin then encouraged Amiwala to run for public office shortly after she announced her candidacy for D73.5 Board of Education, and was elected in April 2019, in a race with seven candidates and re-elected in April 2023.[13][14][6][9][15]

Biography

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Amiwala was born in Chicago and lived in the Rogers Park area until she was 10. She is the daughter of two Pakistani Immigrants.[11] Her family then moved to Skokie, Illinois, where she graduated from Niles North High School, and was on the Policy debate team, winning the national debating championship at Harvard University.[16][17][18]

Amiwala has discussed being motivated to become politically active due to anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment in the country at the time, associated with Donald Trump.[16][2] She began her political career as an intern for Republican senator Mark Kirk, and was encouraged by her field office manager to run her own campaign for the Cook County Board of Commissioners as a college freshman.[19] She came in second in the Democratic primaries with 14,988 votes, a total of 30.6% of the vote in a three-person race.[20]

Amiwala is an alum from DePaul University, where she studied management information systems, with a double minor in community service studies and public policy studies, and served as the commencement speaker for her college graduating class in 2020.[21][22] She now studies at Kellogg School of Management for an MBA, set to graduate in June 2025.[23][24][25]

In 2019, Amiwala was elected to the SD73.5 Board of Education from Skokie Township, Illinois.[13][14] She was reelected in 2023, having run unopposed.[15][26][27][28] She has testified in the Illinois General Assembly on the All Faiths Act; mandating the education of contributions of religious minority groups in history.[29][4][6]

Amiwala is a frequent public speaker[30][31] and has spoken at events such as two TEDx, TEDxDePaul University and TEDxDavenport, along with institutions such as Harvard University.[32][33] She was featured in a documentary called And She Could Be Next on PBS.[34] She is also one the female candidates profiled and aided on Amazon Prime's RUN The Series.[35] Amiwala was featured in original Hulu documentary called Our America: Women Forward.[36][37][11]

Amiwala has hosted annual Ramadan Iftar events, which have been attended by politicians including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.[38][39] Bushra was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2025 in the Education section.[5] She received the UN Gender Equality Award from the United Nations in September 2022.[40][24] Amiwala was named one of Glamour Magazine's 2018 College Women of the Year.[41]

On June 2, 2025, Amiwala announced her 2026 campaign for Illinois's 9th congressional district.[42][43][4][44]

Political stances

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Bushra Amiwala leading a public workshop on civic engagement and leadership in Glenview. [45]

Amiwala "aims to make government resources more accessible to constituents, promote a living wage for workers, provide student debt relief and advocate for reproductive freedom."[46] She also favors Medicare for All and prioritizing environmental justice.[47] She wants Congressional Democrats to do more to resist Donald Trump's Presidency[48] and to stop military aid to Israel[49] [50] and was one of the first elected officials to sign onto the public letter from Jewish Voice for Peace, urging for an immediate, permanent, ceasefire in Gaza.[51] [52]Amiwala was also known to decline an invitation to attend the Democratic National Convention, due to the Biden-Harris Administration's stance of the Israel-Gaza war.[53] She advocates regulating artificial intelligence, both to protect workers at risk of losing their jobs,[49] and to protect racially marginalized people from surveillance.[54]

Amiwala also urges an investment in K-12 Education from more federal funding sources, to ease the burden on property tax [55][56] payers and local residents, without compromising on the quality of public education. [57]

References

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  1. ^ Blumberg, Nick (2018-02-19). "Bushra Amiwala: Candidate for Cook County Commissioner, 13th District". WTTW News. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  2. ^ a b McNamara, Brittney (2017-04-20). "This College Student Won't Let Islamophobia Stop Her From Running for Political Office". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  3. ^ Husain, Nausheen (2019-07-16). "As more Muslims run for office, community urged 'to take center stage' in an era of immigration raids and racist tweets". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  4. ^ a b c Smith, Morgan (2024-03-30). "26-year-old is one of first Gen Z women to hold public office in the U.S., works at Google and is getting her MBA—how she balances it all". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  5. ^ a b "Bushra Amiwala". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  6. ^ a b c Anya, Sen (February 2023). "Meet Bushra Amiwala, the first Gen Z woman to hold public office in the U.S." malala.org. Retrieved Aug 17, 2023.
  7. ^ "Meet Bushra Amiwala, the Muslim teen running to be commissioner in Cook County, Illinois". Mic. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  8. ^ a b "Chicago Muslim Oral History Project: Amiwala, Bushra". collections.carli.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  9. ^ a b Burke, Sammi (2019-08-07). "How Bushra Amiwala Became the Youngest Muslim U.S. Elected Official & What She Hopes For Next". Her Campus. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  10. ^ "Bushra Amiwala Is One of The Youngest Muslim Elected Officials". NowThis News. Archived from the original on 2019-09-14. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  11. ^ a b c Cox, Brian L. (2021-04-27). "Skokie youth activist Bushra Amiwala featured in new documentary, honored with service award". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  12. ^ "Bushra Amiwala", Ballotpedia. Retrieved on 5 December 2018.
  13. ^ a b Davis, Susan; Parks, Miles; Elving, Ron (2019-11-29). "How To Run For Office". NPR. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  14. ^ a b Meadows, Jonah (2019-04-01). "2019 Election Results: Skokie, Niles, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood". Skokie, Illinois Patch. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  15. ^ a b Schmidt, Corey (2023-02-06). "Skokie voters will face these candidates on April 4 ballots". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  16. ^ a b Hayes, Natalie (2016-05-20). "Shout Out: Activist, scholar and Niles North senior Bushra Amiwala". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  17. ^ Tucker, Grace (2017-11-08). "Niles North alumna running for Cook County Board". Bugle Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  18. ^ Francis, Meredith (2020-06-29). "Meet Bushra Amiwala, the Youngest Muslim Holding Public Office in the Country". WTTW Chicago. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  19. ^ Isaacs, Mike (2017-06-12). "Muslim teen from Skokie to run for Cook County Board seat". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  20. ^ "Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2018)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  21. ^ "DePaul Graduate Bushra Amiwala Delivers 2020 Student Commencement Speech | DePaul University, Chicago". business.depaul.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  22. ^ "DePaul Student Gains National Attention for Leadership and Service". business.depaul.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  23. ^ "Leading with your identity: An MBA combines faith & business to effect change". Kellogg School of Management. 2023-04-20. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  24. ^ a b Amiwala, Bushra (2023-03-21). "Kellogg Chronicles: Leading As A Kellogg Woman". Poets&Quants for Execs. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  25. ^ "Bushra Amiwala '25 MBA". Kellogg School of Management. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  26. ^ Dorfman, Daniel I. (2023-04-17). "Gov. Pritzker, other top officials attend Skokie iftar organized by local elected official". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  27. ^ Hammond, Joseph (2021-03-23). "Meet Bushra Amiwala: The US' Youngest Elected Muslim Officeholder". Interfaith America. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  28. ^ "Skokie's Bushra Amiwala, 22, youngest Muslim elected official in U.S." ABC7 Chicago. 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  29. ^ "Illinois General Assembly Bills". 14 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Bushra Amiwala | Keynote Speaker". www.aaespeakers.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  31. ^ "Schedule Bushra Amiwala to Speak". Harry Walker Agency. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  32. ^ "TEDxDePaulUniversity". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  33. ^ "Epiphany". www.tedxdavenport.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  34. ^ "And She Could Be Next: Discussion Guide". PBS. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  35. ^ "Home". Runtheseries. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  36. ^ "'Our America: Women Forward,' a Multiplatform Docuseries Produced by ABC Owned Television Stations, Set To Premiere March 8, With an Hourlong Special Narrated by Talk Show Host Tamron Hall To Air the Weekend of March 13 – ABC Owned Television Stations". Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  37. ^ Baca, Stacey (2021-03-09). "Skokie's Bushra Amiwala is the youngest Muslim elected official in US". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  38. ^ Dorfman, Dan (17 April 2023). "Gov. Pritzker, other top officials attend Skokie iftar organized by local elected official". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved Aug 17, 2023.
  39. ^ Ullah, Syed Khalil (2021-02-22). "Bushra Amiwala receives Exemplary Community Service Award". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
  40. ^ "Bushra Amiwala honored with the Women's Contribution Award from the United Nations". September 2022.
  41. ^ Militare, Jessica (2018-06-04). "Meet the 'Glamour' 2018 College Women of the Year". Glamour. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  42. ^ Eadie, Matthew (2025-04-25). "Second Gen-Z Democrat eyeing Congress seat". Evanston Now. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  43. ^ Eadie, Matthew (2025-05-05). "Schakowsky says she's stepping aside in 2026". Evanston Now. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  44. ^ "Democratic digital creator likely facing field of local politicians to succeed US Rep. Jan Schakowsky". Chicago Tribune. 2025-05-12. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  45. ^ "Bushra Amiwala '25 MBA". Kellogg School of Management. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  46. ^ Mitchell, Ella (2025-06-03). "Skokie's Bushra Amiwala joins crowded congressional primary". Evanston RoundTable. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  47. ^ Baker, Sophie (2025-06-02). "Skokie native Bushra Amiwala joins 9th Congressional District race". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  48. ^ Jacobson, Alexandria (June 13, 2025). "'Sea change': First Gen Z ever elected in US now running to shake up Congress". Raw Story. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  49. ^ a b McClelland, Edward (June 10, 2025). "This Gen Z Congressional Candidate Is Actually From Here". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  50. ^ Shalash, Nada. "American Arabs react to Donald Trump political comeback". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  51. ^ "State and Local Elected Officials Open Letter to President Biden Calling for a Ceasefire". JVP Action. 2024-01-09. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  52. ^ "3 generations, 1 party: How Clinton, AOC and Gen Z are reshaping the DNC". Reckon. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  53. ^ "3 generations, 1 party: How Clinton, AOC and Gen Z are reshaping the DNC". Reckon. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  54. ^ Harrison, Alex (2025-06-18). "Dems running to succeed Schakowsky make opening pitches at forum". Evanston RoundTable. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  55. ^ "Skokie's Bushra Amiwala is the youngest Muslim elected official in US". ABC7 Chicago. 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  56. ^ Eadie, Matthew (2025-06-02). "Skokie's Amiwala launches bid for Congress". Evanston Now. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  57. ^ "Bushra Amiwala '25 MBA". Kellogg School of Management. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
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