Shama Haider (born December 20, 1948) is a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician who represents the 37th legislative district in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

since taking office on January 11, 2022. Along with

Sadaf Jaffer Sadaf F. Jaffer (born February 19, 1983) is an American scholar and elected official who has represented the 16th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office on January 11, 2022. She is a postdoctoral research as ...

, she is the first

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

woman to be elected to the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

Political career

Born and raised in Pakistan, where she attended the

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

, Haider served as Secretary to the First Lady of Pakistan

Nusrat Bhutto ''Begum'' Nusrat Bhutto (; sd, نصرت ڀٽو; ur, ; born as Nusrat Ispahani; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-Pakistani public figure of Kurdish origin, who served as spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1971 unti ...

, Haider emigrated to the United States in 1977. She was elected in both 2001 and 2015 to serve on the

Tenafly, New Jersey Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409,

Borough Council. In the November 2021 general election, she was elected together with her running mates Gordon M. Johnson to the Senate and

Ellen Park Ellen J. Park (born March 6, 1972) is an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician who was elected in the 2021 New Jersey General Assembly election as an assemblywoman for New Jersey's 37th legislative district, making her the first Korea ...

in the Assembly, making her the first Muslim woman to serve in the state legislature.Adely, Hannan
"Bergen's Shama Haider makes history as first Muslim elected to NJ Legislature"
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee Ge ...

'', November 3, 2021. Accessed November 7, 2021. "That changed on Election Day, however, when former Tenafly councilwoman Shama Haider won the race for state Assembly in the 37th District in Bergen County.... Haider, 72, has been active in local politics for over two decades, serving on the Tenafly Borough Council twice in terms beginning in 2001 and in 2015."

Committees

Committee assignments for the current session are:Assemblywoman Shama A. Haider

. Accessed February 22, 2022. *Environment and Solid Waste *Transportation and Independent Authorities

District 37

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

and two members in the

. The representatives from the 37th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:Legislative Roster for District 37

. Accessed January 11, 2022. *Senator Gordon M. Johnson (D) *Assemblywoman Shama Haider (D) *Assemblywoman

(D)

References

External links

Legislative webpage
1948 births Living people American Muslims Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly 21st-century American politicians American people of Pakistani descent American politicians of Pakistani descent Pakistani emigrants to the United States People from Tenafly, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey New Jersey city council members University of the Punjab alumni Women state legislators in New Jersey 21st-century American women politicians {{NewJersey-politician-stub