Tahanie Aboushi facts for kids

Tahanie Aboushi is an American lawyer who helps people protect their rights. She works with her brother and sister at their law firm in New York City. She once ran to become the District Attorney for Manhattan, which is a very important legal job.

Early Life and Family

Tahanie Aboushi was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents moved to the United States from Palestine. When she was 14, her father was away for a long time. Her mother then raised Tahanie and her nine siblings by herself. Tahanie has said that her family's experiences helped inspire her to become a lawyer and work for justice.

Tahanie is also the sister of Oday Aboushi, who plays professional football for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Education Journey

Tahanie Aboushi studied Legal Studies at St. Johns University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree. Later, in 2009, she earned her law degree, called a Juris Doctor, from Syracuse University College of Law.

Her Career as a Lawyer

In 2010, Tahanie Aboushi started her own law firm, The Aboushi Law Firm. There, she has worked on many important cases that deal with people's civil rights. Civil rights are the basic rights and freedoms that all people should have.

Helping People at the Airport

After a new rule was announced in 2017, many people faced problems at JFK Airport in New York. Tahanie, who is a child of immigrants and is Muslim, went to the airport right away. She offered free legal help to families and individuals who were affected by the rule. For her amazing work helping the community, New York State Senator Jesse Hamilton gave her the Shirley Chisholm Women of Excellence Award.

Protecting Religious Rights

Tahanie Aboushi also took legal action against the New York City Police Department. This was because police officers had made women remove their hijabs (religious head coverings) when they were being processed by the police. In some cases, this happened in front of other people, which was very upsetting for the women. Tahanie represented three women who said their religious rights were violated. In 2018, these women each received money as part of a settlement with New York City. This helped show that religious rights must be respected.

Standing Up for Protesters

In May 2020, during a Black Lives Matter protest in Brooklyn, a police officer pushed a 21-year-old woman to the ground. She had to go to the hospital. A reporter filmed what happened, and the video quickly became very well known. The officer was suspended and charged with a crime. Six months later, Tahanie Aboushi filed a lawsuit against the city, the officer, and the police department. She wanted to make sure that people's rights to protest peacefully are protected.

Running for District Attorney

Even with her many successes as a civil rights lawyer, Tahanie wanted to make even bigger changes to the legal system. So, in January 2020, she announced that she would run for New York County District Attorney. The District Attorney is a very important lawyer who leads the office that decides whether to charge people with crimes and how to handle those cases.

If Tahanie had won, she would have been the first woman, the first Muslim, and the first Palestinian American to hold that important job.