Nusrat Jahan becomes first US Muslim woman to be nominated to federal bench

New York: Nusrat Jahan Choudhury has become the first Muslim-American woman to be nominated to the federal bench after the White House made an announcement on Wednesday that President Joe Biden has nominated her.

After the confirmation of the Senate, she will become the second Muslim American to be on the federal bench. Earlier, Zahid Quraishi of Pakistani origin had served as a federal judge.

Choudhury is one of the eight persons nominated to the federal bench. Other seven include two black women, a Latina, and a Taiwanese immigrant.

Since Biden took the President’s office, he has nominated 83 persons to the federal bench. Out of them, over 40 nominations have been confirmed by Senate.

The new round of nominations has been aimed to diversify the judiciary. The diversity is the country’s greatest strength, the White House said in a statement.

Background of Choudhury

Choudhury is of Bangladeshi origin. She had served as deputy director of the Racial Justice Programme from 2018 to 2020.

Later, she worked as legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois.

Recently, she has emerged as the top choice among Muslim American advocates. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer backed her as an expert in civil rights and liberties.