Descriptive Representation (1)
Sameena Karmally is an Indian-born American citizen running to represent House District 89 in Northern Texas. Her family moved to Texas from India when she was a toddler, and sheâs spent most of her life immersed in her home state - living, working, attending university, and starting her own young family in Texas. After years of practicing law, she is running as a challenger to the current assemblywoman, Jodie Laubenberg. Laubenberg is a Republican woman who has held her seat since 2002, in the time authoring and co-authoring many bills related to abortion restrictions, sexual education restrictions, and more. Against Laubenberg, Karmally seems to face a few disadvantages as a challenging Democrat woman of color in a largely white, republican district. Her opponent, on the other hand, has the advantage of her stateâs politics on her side as well as being an incumbent. However, according to the Center for American Women in Politics (CAWP), there is a trend in American politics in which women tend to run either against fellow women or for an open seat due to the fact that these elections tend to have a more favorable outcome for placing women into legislatures. According to this, Karmally faces fewer disadvantages than she would if she were running against a man.
   According to the CAWP women in politics are often compartmentalized into legislating for what are considered âwomenâs issuesâ - health care, childcare and childrenâs rights, education, and matters considered to be in the interest of women. Predominantly white male politicians often overlook these particular issues (whether through ignorance, over thought, or a feeling that these issues are unimportant) and as a result of this lack of fair representation in American legislatures, these issues often fall into the hands of our elected women. Whether this hand dealt for women in politics is a fair representation of what female leaders want to be legislating on or not, it appears to be what Sameena Karmally has built her ticket on. In this way, she follows very closely what the CAWP has found to be typical patterns for women in politics. Her websiteâs âAbout Meâ sections outlines her education, her work experience in practicing law, and her family life. Here, however, she strays from what the CAWP says is common of women in politics. Whereas the CAWP claims that women often feel that they must emphasize their accomplishments and leadership experience while downplaying their home life and more âfeminineâ qualities in order to appear equally qualified to their male counterparts, Karmally seems to do the opposite. Though she is highly qualified and lists her degrees (a BA, MA, and JD) and law experience, her emphasis is put largely on her home life and family. She explains her choice to switch from her full time law practice to being a full time stay-at-home mother and the charities and organizations she participates in - many of them in the realm of childrenâs interests and health care.
   This choice is an interesting one, especially once you consider the demographics of her district, her state, and her region. Itâs no secret that the socioeconomic politics of the south tend to side with the more traditional and the more conservative. Though this pattern is changing and there are certainly exceptions, a large part of the culture of the south remains based in social roles and tradition. Karmallyâs choice to emphasis her role as a mother and a caretaker in the face of a politically conservative region of the Greater Dallas area is one that, by design, avoids party lines. Instead of emphasizing her position as a Democrat in a red district, and a woman of color in a majority Caucasian district, she focuses on something that is a common experience for many - family and their well being. Whether Republican or Democrat, family is a common thread between both sides of the aisle.
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