Nabeela Syed is a 23-year-old Indian-Muslim woman who was elected to the Illinois State Assembly in the recent midterm elections.
As a Democrat, Nabila defeated Republican incumbent Chris Boss. She shared the news on Twitter, saying: “My name is Nabila Saeed. I am a 23 year old Muslim Indian American woman. We just flipped a Republican-controlled Suburbia. In January, I’ll be the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly.”
Saeed also wrote a lengthy Instagram post about her political journey and her experiences canvassing for elections.
“We won this race because the people of Area 51 wanted a representative who was ready to fight for them and their families. I knocked on every door in the district. Tomorrow, I started knocking on them again, Thank you for their trust in me. I’m ready to get to work,” she wrote.
She remembers Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 — when she was a high school student — and the racist and Islamophobic rhetoric that surrounded her.
“The day Trump was elected, I remember crying in every class,” she told NBC News. “I didn’t feel like this country was for us. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I belong here.’ It’s the only home I’ve ever known, and I was wondering if I belong here.”
Six years later, in November 2022, another election will mean very different things for Saeed.
“It’s important to me — growing up in this community and knowing what it’s like not to belong — to make sure everyone feels like they belong,” she said. “This is a big moment for my family, and I hope other young people and women of color feel that we can make this happen. We have space here.”
Syed’s parents moved to Illinois from Hyderabad, India, in the 1980s. She graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Political Science and Business Administration, where she served as president of a pro bono advisory organization that assists local businesses and nonprofits.
