As congress comes back to session on Thursday, new Muslim reps Ilhan Omar (Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District) and Rashida Tlaibis (Michigan’s 13th Congressional Distric) are posed to take their respective seats.
Ms. Omar wears a hijab, making her not only the first hijabi congress-woman but also the first to challenge a House ruling. Since 1837, hats of all kinds have been forbidden. This ruling is expected to be overturned as Democrats take control of the House.
Ms. Omar recently tweeted about the matter: “No one puts a scarf on my head but me. It’s my choice—one protected by the First Amendment.”
The ban was originally enacted 181 years ago. It was a time when hat-wearing, on the congressional floor, was considered “harmless but apparently indecorous.”
