Hamida Dakane made history in the US after becoming the first woman of Somali descent to join the House of Representatives in North Dakota.
She moved from Kenya to North Dakota in 2012 to attend North Dakota State University through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
Dakane later earned a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Mary in Bismarck.
“I stayed ever since 2012. I got involved in the community and stayed in North Dakota. I always wanted to find a way to give back to the community. I was asked to run for representative, and I couldn’t say no because I wanted to give back,” she told Williston Herald, a US publication.
As a young girl, she was captivated by politics, and while in the US, she tried her luck by vying for a seat in 2020 and 2021 but she lost.
However, in November 2022, she ran for a seat under the Democratic Party to represent District 10 in the North Dakota House of Representatives. She got elected after polling 31.8 per cent of valid votes.
Some of her selling points during the campaign were affordable housing, childcare, and better school programs among others.
"The healthiest communities are the ones that work together, I will bring the spirit of cooperation as a Representative of District 10.
“A state that is as old as North Dakota is and 2013 was the first time they elected a woman was surprising to me,” Dakane stated.
Dakane has won several awards including YCWA Woman of the Year of Award and the Frago Human Rights Award.
The lawmaker also works as a Community Organiser under AmeriCorps VISTA tasked with developing resilient communities, through community involvement in local volunteering programs.
In 2014, Dakane co-founded the Afro-American Development Association, a nonprofit in Moorhead that provides resources and tools to assist new Americans.
