Diversity doesn’t always mean positive change – but the new congress gives me hope

We finally have a group of women in congress who just might be able to take on the forces that have manipulated US politics for decades

There is hope again for US politics. Not only was there, thank God, a democratic takeover of the House of Representatives with 235 Democrats and 199 Republicans, with one congressional race outcome in North Carolina still pending. But even more important: there are now 102 women in the 116^th congress, more than ever before in the history of the country.

But diversity doesn’t always mean change. And in the face of the Trump administration’s rollbacks on everything imaginable: from human rights to environmental law and immigration law – the US needed not only a diverse group of congresswomen to make a change, but also an infusion of bold congresswomen to stand up to the bully, racist and misogynist-in-chief, Donald Trump.

The remarkably terrible presidency of Trump is, unfortunately, what it took to inspire many of these women to run for office, and for others, like me, to vote for them. And that is what we finally got: a group of bold, opinionated and unwavering women to represent the progressive, ethnically, religiously and politically diverse, non-capitalist wing of American politics that is very much alive and angry.

We now have more women with small children who can represent the interests of working and non-working mothers, who for years have shouted that they system is against them – but no one cared to listen. And we finally have a group of women in congress who just might be able to take on the Koch brothers, big pharma, the pro-Israel lobby and other evildoers that have manipulated US politics for decades.

Take some examples:

Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is not just the first Somali-American member of congress, she is also the first congresswoman to ever wear hijab. This brave act flies in the face of Trump’s attempt to incite vitriol and even violence against Muslim immigrants and Muslim Americans with his racist and imbecilic Muslim ban, not to mention the disparaging comments he has made over the years both during and after his presidential campaign.

Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan is also notably Muslim and had the applaudable audacity to wear a thobe typical of Palestine, where her family immigrated from, which was stitched her mother. This brave and powerful act shows she is not intimidated by a majority pro-Israel congress (even on the Democratic side), that has taken every possible opportunity to deny Palestinian people any attempt at enforcing the human rights accorded to them under international law.

Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico also made history as the first Native American women elected to congress – a community that has historically been persecuted and neglected by US politicians and their self-serving interest groups. Davids also identifies as a lesbian, which is an important milestone for the LGBT community in terms of representation on the national level.

There were other important political achievements made during the elections for the 116^th congress: Kyrsten Sinema, the newly elected senator from Arizona also identifies as bisexual – a first for the Senate. Texas finally has Latinas representing their constituents in congress and Massachusetts and Connecticut elected their first black congresswoman. And Tennessee, Arizona and Mississippi elected their first female senators and congresswoman, respectively.

Things are already getting heated. Our traditional, white, political elite is none too happy with this new batch of congresswomen looking to take on issues from a feminist perspective, including some long-standing members of the Democratic party and, least of all, the President.

The hysteria over the video that resurfaced of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s harmless college dance video is laughable, but the “scandal” has captivated the conservative media’s search to defame her and some of the other women before they even get anything done.

Similarly, while Trump’s comments about grabbing women’s genitals, or saying he would have sex with his daughter if she weren’t his daughter, were played off as “guy talk”, newly elected Tlaib's comment to “impeach the motherf***er” (Trump) has caused a firestorm on the right. Predictable, but still disappointing.

But Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez and their newly elected counterparts in congress don’t appear intimidated. Let’s hope these women can bring the change this country so desperately needs, before more irreversible damage is done.