Hashmi scripted history by becoming the first Indian American and the first Muslim to hold that statewide office in Virginia.
Born in the Hyderabad city of India in 1964, Ghazala emigrated with her family to the United States, moving from India to Georgia at the age of four.
Her father, Zia Hashmi, was a political science professor; her family moved into an academic-town environment.
She and her husband Azhar Rafiq moved to the Richmond, Virginia area in 1991 and raised two daughters.
In 2019, Hashmi was elected to the Virginia State Senate, defeating a Republican incumbent.
With that win, she became the first Muslim and first South Asian American to serve in the Virginia Senate.
Her legislative priorities include public education, voting rights, reproductive freedoms, gun-violence prevention, environmental justice, affordable housing and health care access.