Kauthar Bouchallikht

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Kauthar Bouchallikht
Kauthar Bouchallikht debate.png
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
March 31, 2021
Personal details
Born
K. Bouchallikht

(1994-05-16) May 16, 1994 (age 27)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Political partyGroenLinks
Alma materUtrecht University
OccupationPublicist
WebsitePersonal website

Kauthar Bouchallikht[a] (born May 16, 1994) is a Dutch politician, climate activist and publicist. She was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2021 general election on behalf of the green political party GroenLinks. Bouchallikht is the first member of parliament in Dutch parliamentary history to wear a hijab. She is also known for her activism in the climate movement.

Early life and career[]

Bouchallikht was born in Amsterdam in 1994 in a family of Moroccan descent.[1][2] Starting in 2011, while in high school, she served on the board of LAKS, a Dutch interest group for students, and in that position helped organize a 2011 pupil strike against a mandatory minimum number of school hours.[3][4] Bouchallikht studied public management at Utrecht University, where she obtained her master's degree in 2016. She also wrote some articles for the newspaper Het Parool during this period.[3][5]

After completing her studies, she started working as a freelance publicist, speaker, and trainer, working for De Correspondent, online sustainability magazine OneWorld, and Nieuw Wij.[3][6] She also became the chair of the foundation Groene Moslims (Green Muslims), which promotes sustainability, in January 2018.[6] Furthermore, she served as vice-chair of the Forum for European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) until December 2020.[7] In this position, she provided training at a camp of a Millî Görüş youth organization.[3]

In March 2019, she assisted in an Amsterdam climate change protest. The organization for which she was a campaigner, DeGoedeZaak, was one of the organizers.[8][3]

Politics[]

In November 2020, Bouchallikht appeared in ninth place on GroenLinks's draft party list for the 2021 general election. She had not held any positions within the party before.[9] Shortly after, author and former journalist Carel Brendel wrote on his personal blog about Bouchallikht's position at FEMYSO, which was not mentioned in her GroenLinks profile. FEMYSO has alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood organization Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, although the organization itself has denied this.[10] Bouchallikht called it an allegation, denied having connections with the Muslim Brotherhood, and later denounced their ideas.[10][7] Party leader Jesse Klaver defended her, calling her the figurehead of the green movement, but he also called it a bad idea to give training at Millî Görüş.[11]

In December 2020, blog GeenStijl published a picture showing Bouchallikht at a 2014 demonstration against violence in the Gaza Strip. She was surrounded by protesters carrying antisemitic slogans. Bouchallikht reacted by saying that she denounces antisemitism and that she should have left the demonstration when those banners were shown.[12] The blog also found out that two years earlier she had liked a Facebook post, in which Jesse Klaver was called "a villain or cowardly" for not agreeing with a statement of political party NIDA equating Israel and the Islamic State.[13][14] Arab news channel Al Jazeera published an opinion piece on their website by British activist Malia Bouattia, in which she called the media reports about Bouchallikht's candidacy "racist, Islamophobic attacks". It was signed by 102 persons and organizations including numerous politicians and academics.[15]

In the election, GroenLinks won eight seats. Bouchallikht was elected to the House despite her ninth position on the party list due to the 27,038 preference votes she received.[16] She was one of three members of the new House who were elected due to meeting the preference-vote threshold. Bouchallikht was sworn in on March 31, 2021 and became the first member wearing a hijab in the history of the House of Representatives.[17] A small group of Pegida supporters protested against her installation.[18] Her specializations in the House are mbo, digitization, infrastructure, and water management, and she is on the following committees:[19][20]

  • Committee for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality
  • Committee for Digital Affairs
  • Committee for Education, Culture and Science
  • Committee for Infrastructure and Water Management
  • Committee for Kingdom Relations

Personal life[]

Bouchallikht is a resident of Amsterdam.[20]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Some sources spell her last name as Bouchallikh.

References[]

  1. ^ Bouchallikht, Kauthar (September 17, 2018). "Maak kennis met Kauthar Bouchallikht" [Meet Kauthar Bouchallikht]. Nieuw Wij (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Enis Odaci. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  2. ^ Van der Loo, Gilles (February 20, 2021). "Een eigen draai aan tamarakt met Kauthar Bouchallikht" [A twist on tamarakt with Kauthar Bouchallikht]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Soetenhorst, Bas (November 18, 2020). "GroenLinks-talent Kauthar Bouchallikht maakt kille entree in de politiek" [GroenLinks talent Kauthar Bouchallikht makes cold political entrance]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  4. ^ "Nieuw bestuur voor LAKS" [LAKS's new board]. Nationale Onderwijsgids (in Dutch). June 14, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  5. ^ Bouchallikht, Kauthar (March 19, 2019). "Na de studie: Freelancer met scherpe pen en kritische blik op de samenleving" [After graduation: Freelancer with a sharp pen and a critical view of society]. DUB (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Inge Oosterhoff. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Verlouw Charlot (October 12, 2018). "Voor de Groene Moslims is het overduidelijk: de islam en groen doen horen bij elkaar" [It is very clear to the Groene Moslims: Islam and green go together]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Bouchallikht, Kauthar (November 23, 2020). "Kauthar Bouchallikht: 'Als GroenLinkser zal ik Milli Görüs niet meer bezoeken'" [Kauthar Bouchallikht: 'As a member of GroenLinks, I will not vist Millî Görüş again]. Trouw (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Bart Zuidervaart. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Derbali, Naïm (March 22, 2019). "Het witte gezicht van de groene beweging" [The white face of the green movement]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  9. ^ De Witt Wijnen, Philip (November 9, 2020). "GroenLinks kiest voor parlementaire ervaring en diversiteit" [GroenLinks chooses parliamentary experience and diversity]. nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Schoonhoven, Silvian (November 12, 2020). "Kandidaat-Kamerlid GL in opspraak wegens mogelijke link met Moslim Broederschap" [MP candidate GL controversial due to possible link with Muslim Brotherhood]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "Klaver staat nog steeds achter kandidaat Bouchallikht" [Klaver is still supporting candidate Bouchallikht]. NOS (in Dutch). November 17, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  12. ^ Zwolsman, Noor (December 9, 2020). "GroenLinks-kandidaat Bouchallikht 'baalt' van deelname aan protest" [GroenLinks candidate Bouchallikht regrets participation protest]. nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  13. ^ Keultjes, Hanneke (December 11, 2020). "De storm rond GroenLinks-kandidaat Bouchallikht gaat maar niet liggen" [Storm surrounding GroenLinks candidate Bouchallikht won't stop]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  14. ^ "GL-kandidaat Bouchallikht steunde antisemitische stelling" [GL candidate Bouchallikht supported antisemitic position]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). December 12, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  15. ^ Bouattia, Malia (December 24, 2020). "In solidarity with Kauthar Bouchallikht". Al Jazeera. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  16. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021" [Results general election March 17, 2021] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). March 26, 2021. p. 265. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  17. ^ Herderscheê, Gijs (March 23, 2021). "Aandeel vrouwen in de Kamer stijgt naar 39 procent" [Share of women in the House rises to 39 percent]. De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  18. ^ Theulings, Remko (March 31, 2021). "Al op dag één demonstraties en bedreigingen, maar Kauthar Bouchallikht gaat vastberaden de Tweede Kamer in" [Protests and threats already on day one, but Kauthar Bouchallikht enters the House determined]. EenVandaag (in Dutch). Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "Kauthar Bouchallikht". GroenLinks (in Dutch). Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b "Kauthar Bouchallikh". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. Retrieved April 24, 2021.

External links[]

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