First Sikh Woman Mayor in U.S. History Takes Office in California

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Yuba City in California has elected the first Sikh woman mayor in United States history. Preet Didbal was sworn in on Tuesday.

Didbal’s victory will undoubtedly be a point of pride for her Yuba City, home to one of the most populous Sikh communities in the U.S.

“I’m speechless, I honestly am,” Didbal said of her win. “It’s so humbling. You know, you talk about the American Dream, and here we are.”

The new mayor is the daughter of two immigrants who made the move to the U.S. from the Punjab region of India in 1968. They went took jobs in agriculture as farm laborers.

“Because of the large immigrant community there, my family could relate to the hardships as well as the joys of being an American,” Didbal said. “We wanted to have a better life. My parents struggled through the orchards and did what they needed to do. It was hard work but they were able to accomplish a better life.”

In addition to being the first woman of Sikh descent to serve as a U.S. mayor, Didbal to attend college and subsequently earn an advanced degree.

Didbal says she hopes her election will be eye-opening for girls and women in particular. “I hope it sends a huge message to our young women, young girls, go reach for the stars. Go get it,” she said. “You have an equal seat at the table with the men and you can make very big positive impacts in your community.”

The mayor has also tried to empower survivors of sexual violence, having been raped at the age of 19 herself. In response to when she started speaking about her own experience, Didbal emphasized the societal importance importance of having conversations on the topic in public:

I did speak openly about it a little over a year ago. I did a community forum on bullying and giving a hand of kindness. We have to be able to express what’s happening in the real world. I’m a single mom. I have a daughter. She is now the same age, going off to college. It’s tough to talk about, it still is. I hope, that if anything, just being in this position I can lend to other women who have been through it — or going through it. We want to be able to empower young women. To do that in our culture it’s very important. We have very smart, intelligent young women who need to let it out.

Didbal joins the growing list of Democrats from minority groups making history post-Trump by being the first of their communities to hold elected office.