Today, Ghazala Hashmi, an Indian-born American politician and former educator, secured her re-election for another four-year term in Virginia’s 15th Senate district. She garnered an impressive 60 percent of the votes.
Hashmi, a Democrat, has a rich background in education and academic administration spanning over 25 years. Born in Hyderabad, India, in 1964, she later moved to the United States with her family in 1969. Hashmi holds a B.A. in English from Georgia Southern University and earned a Ph.D. in English from Emory University.
Throughout her career, Hashmi received accolades for her contributions to teaching and multicultural enrichment.
She notably defeated incumbent Republican Glen Sturtevant in the 2019 Virginia Senate election, becoming the first woman to represent the district and the first Muslim elected to the Senate of Virginia. Hashmi officially took office on January 8, 2020.
Raised in a small college town in Georgia during a period of school desegregation, Hashmi witnessed the power of intentional efforts to bridge cultural, racial, and socioeconomic divides. In 1991, she and her husband relocated to the Richmond area, where she spent nearly three decades as a professor, teaching at the University of Richmond and Reynolds Community College. During her time at Reynolds, she also served as the Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL).
Hashmi has been re-elected in the new 15th Senatorial District. She is not only a trailblazer as the first Muslim but also the first South Asian American to serve in the Virginia Senate.
