NEW DELHI: In a moment that felt like history turning a fresh page, Virginia voters have chosen Ghazala Hashmi as the state’s new Lieutenant Governor. With this victory, she becomes the first Indian-American to hold the position and she stepped into it at the age of 60.
For many, this win is more than a result on election night. It is a story of belonging, of identity, and of how the American dream now carries accents, memories, and childhoods from across oceans.
Hashmi, who once walked the busy streets of Malakpet in Hyderabad as a little girl, will now walk the marble floors of Virginia’s executive office. Hashmi’s story begins in Hyderabad in 1964, in a home filled with books, education, and big dreams. Her parents, Tanveer and Professor Zia Hashmi, believed deeply in learning and public life. Her father studied at the famous Aligarh Muslim University before earning a PhD in the United States and later founding a Center for International Studies. And, her mother was a double graduate from Osmania University’s women’s college.
Young Ghazala spent her early years living with her grandparents in Malakpet surrounded by stories of independence, public duty, and family warmth. At the age of four, she, her mother, and her brother packed their bags to join her father in America. It was 1969, the moon landing year, and Hashmi’s life was also taking off in a direction no one could predict. Growing up in Statesboro, Georgia, she attended school on a university campus. Her father and uncle taught political science, and the academic atmosphere shaped her worldview.
Before entering politics, Hashmi spent decades as an educator.She was a college professor who believed classrooms were the first step toward shaping a better future.
In 1991, she moved to the Richmond area with her husband, Azhar Rafiq. Together, they built a life and raised two daughters Yasmin and Noor.
Her first major political breakthrough came when she became the first Muslim and first South Asian American elected to the Virginia Senate. Her work in the Senate focused on affordable education, healthcare access, and social equity.
Agencies
Ghazala Hashmi makes history as Virginia’s first Indian-American Lt Governor
