Who is Nusrat Jahan Choudhury? Know more about the first Muslim woman to be a US federal judge

The US Senate has approved the nomination of Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, the former American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney, as the first Muslim woman to serve as a federal judge. Choudhury is also the first Bangladeshi American to hold this lifetime position. The 46-year-old will serve as a UFS court judge for the eastern district of New York. The Senate approved her appointment as a federal judge in a narrow 50-49 decision.

Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, voted against her confirmation. He believes some of Choudhury's past comments made her biased against law enforcement. "As a staunch supporter of our men and women in uniform, I opposed Ms Choudhury's nomination," Manchin stated. Previously, Machin also opposed the appointment of two other Biden-nominated federal judges, Dale Ho and Nancy Abudu. However, the Senate confirmed them without his support.

Here's everything you need to know about the first female Muslim federal judge Nusrat Jahan Choudhury.

Nusrat Jahan Choudhury's career

Nusrat Jahan Choudhury was the deputy director of ACLU's Racial Justice Program. She has a track record for fighting racial profiling and discrimination against poor people. According to the ACLU's website, "Nusrat helped secure the first federal court ruling striking down the US government's no-fly list procedures for violating due process."

She also challenged the New York Police Department's discriminatory profiling of Muslims for surveillance. Her efforts resulted in a court-ordered settlement agreement and secure public records about the racial and ethnic mapping programme.

In March 2021, Choudhury said, "As a young Muslim girl of colour in the Chicago area, race was a part of my reality. It led to police stops that shouldn't have ever happened; it led to family members facing problems at airports; what I saw around me was dramatic residential segregation and different opportunities for people of colour than for white people in the city of Chicago."

Nusrat's father worked as a physician in Chicago for 40 years. She married Michael Early, a visual effects producer, in 2016.

Nusrat Jahan Choudhury is an Arts graduate from Columbia University in 1998. She completed her post-graduation from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 2006 and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2006.

On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Nusrat Jahan Choudhury to serve as a US district judge at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

(With inputs from agencies)

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