Saba is the only candidate of Indian origin among 19 elected members from the state of Illinois. She came to the United States in 2007 and after initially working as an employment consultant, began promoting yoga in America by training yoga teachers.
Aas Mohammad Kaif | TwoCircles.net
UTTAR PRADESH — Saba Haider, an Indian-Muslim woman from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, has been nominated by US president Joe Biden for the state board member election from DuPage County in Illinois and given a ticket by his Democratic party.
Her website describes Saba as a community organizer, small business owner, a wife and a mother to a 14 and an 10-year-old. She has been running her business in the health and wellness area for over a decade. She provides wellness consulting services to corporate clients and local businesses and organizations from the Chicago-land area.
Biden appreciated Saba’s social work, especially during the worst phase of Covid-19 pandemic in the US.
More than one million voters will vote to elect their board members in this election, which is to be held on November 6 this year. The election is an important one as this state-level board directly makes public welfare policies in the state. There are a total of 19 members on the state-level board and 11 of them are democrats.
Saba is the only candidate of Indian origin among 19 elected members from the entire state. She came to the United States in 2007. After initially working as an employment consultant, began promoting yoga in America by training yoga teachers. She continued doing this for nearly 10 years.
Saba has described the opportunity as “a very important one”. She said that she is an ordinary citizen who has been playing the role of a mother, sister, wife and small business-woman until now. “Being given this opportunity in politics is a completely new and huge responsibility,” she said.
Saba is considered a strong candidate who is getting support from her Democratic party allies Sadia Covert and Don Dessert, who are contesting the same election from other districts. Being a Yoga trainer, she has emphasized mental health in her campaign and commended the American people for showing mental strength during the worst periods of the Covid-19 pandemic.
If Saba wins the election, she will replace Amy Shavez, a democrat whose term ends in December.
Family elated at her success
Her family lives in Vijay Nagar, a posh area of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. She is the eldest daughter of her family. Her father was an engineer in Uttar Pradesh Water Department and her mother runs a school in Ghaziabad.
Her two younger brothers, Abbas Haider and Zeeshan Haider are elated with their sister’s achievements.
Expressing happiness during an interview, Saba’s younger brother Abbas Haider said that “Saba has always been active in social work as she believes in helping people.”
“In America, she has always stood with people who needed help of any kind. It didn’t matter whether the person was Indian, American or of any other country, she has always stood with others,” he said.
Abbas said that Saba was active during the Covid-19 pandemic period. “She helped people in many ways during Covid. She feels that politics is a good way to improve the society and help the people as a whole and hopefully she will win the elections,” he said.
He called her nomination a matter of great pride for the family and the entire country.