Meet Shahana Hanif, the First Muslim Woman Elected to the New York City Council

Winning the race for City Council in Brooklyn's District 39 is a big deal on its own: the last two people to hold that seat are the current mayor, Bill de Blasio, and the next comptroller, Brad Lander. But, the democratic candidate that was elected this time is breaking barriers.

Shahana Hanif is a Brooklyn woman making history in more ways than one.

Even in the melting pot of New York City, home to the largest Muslim population in the country, no Muslim woman had ever been elected to the City Council until now.

"This is life-changing," Hanif told News 4 New York.

Hanif was born and raised in the pocket of Kensington, Brooklyn known as "Little Bangladesh."

Hanif still lives in the home she grew up in, with her parents down the block.

In January, the 30-year-old activist will also become the first South Asian councilmember and the first woman to represent her district in City Hall.

Before campaigning she traveled to Bangladesh and spent seven months working on her language skills "to be able to talk to everyday people in my community about the issues impacting us on housing, workplace harassment."

Hanif credits her victory to her parents for engaging the immigrant community in a way that other candidates haven't been able to.

"Every New Yorker meets about three Bangladeshis every day. We are taxi workers. We're food vendors. We are domestic workers," she said. However, Hanif is not surprised to also be the first Muslim woman on the City Council -- citing political realities after 9/11 and historical gender inequities.

"In this community there aren't youth centers. There aren't spaces that are empowering young women in particular so I set out to do that," she said.

Receiving pushback in her own community for running for a seat in City Council, Hanif didn't let that deter her.

"Being young. Being a woman of color. And having this staunch feminist approach to policy-making makes absolutely nobody happy," she said.

Although Hanif may be the first to walk in these shoes, she hopes to clear the path for future generations.

"I'm going into City Hall with a lot of responsibility for this community and for Bangladeshi South Asians, Muslims across this entire city," Hanif said.

When she is sworn in, Hanif will be part of the largest class of woman ever elected to New York City Council -- the first female majority.