Pramila Jaypal- 1st Indian-American woman to Senate
After winning the Washington Senate seat, Pramila Jaypal has become the first Indian-American and also the first South Asian woman to be elected to the US House of Representatives.
Jaypal, the current Democratic state senator, defeated fellow Democrat Brady Walkinshaw with 14% of the vote margin. While she secured 57%, her competitor could manage only 43% of the votes.
Jaypal, an Indian woman, immigrated to the US when she was 16. After the horrifying 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, she founded an organization named 'Hate Free Zone', which was later rechristened as 'OneAmerica', to help the immigrants who were being targeted. She has reportedly turned 'OneAmerica' a major helping hand for immigrants living in the U.S.
From there, in 2014, she was elected to the Washington state Senate. She got support from the former democratic presidential aspirant, after she declared her candidacy for the US House. Jaypal had also been endorsed by more than 20 other members of Congress and a few NGOs.
Jaypal, after her victory, said that she is planning to take up the issues of LGBTQ rights, women's rights, environmental concerns, terrorism etc. after she begins her term in the House in January.
