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Rabat – Kauthar Bouchallikht, a Muslim woman and social justice activist celebrated winning a seat in the Netherlands’ parliament and celebrated by talking about equality and justice on Twitter.
On Sunday last week, the Muslim woman who was standing as a candidate for the Green Left or “Groen-Links” party in the Netherlands expressed pride and thanks for people who voted for her to secure a seat in the House of Representatives.
“For equality and justice. Hope over hate,” she wrote.
The 27-year-old Muslim woman is of Moroccan descent and will represent her party in the House of Representatives.
Islamophobia and racist comments have been hounding Bouchallikht throughout her journey, with the far-right linking her to “extremism.”
Bouchallikht is also the vice president of the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations (FEMYSO), a role that she was criticized for.
On several occasions, Malia Bouttaia defended Bouchallikhtand her causes for justice.
One of the latest opinion pieces was published on November 25 in TRT World.
In the piece, Malia Bouattia said Bouchallikht received several Islamophobic attacks from Dutch media, which associated her with the Muslim brotherhood.
The journalist also condemned ignorance displayed by some Dutch media, such as linking Bouchallikht to the Muslim brotherhood due to her affiliation with FEMYSO.
“What matters, in true islamophobic fashion, is to keep pedaling the false narrative that easily sticks to a hijab-wearing woman of colour,” she wrote.
The journalist also emphasized that Muslim women are “the easiest target.”
Bouchallikht opened up about the Islamophobic attacks she faced several times in different interviews.
In an interview with Dutch media Glamour in 2020, the MP condemned the rise of Islamophobia in the Netherlands.
In the interview, the Muslim woman said that “many in the Netherlands still see the Muslim as the other – in the media people often talk about Muslims in that way.”
She added that support for far-right parties that spread “Islamophobia is increasing.”
She reminisced about one of her previous experiences with Islamophobic attacks during the interview.
“When I was a teenager standing next to a woman who held her purse spasmodically and gave me a look. That does something to you,” she said.
After the increase of attacks against her candidacy, several people from her party and others across the world signed a petition to stand in solidarity with Bouchallikht.
Solidarity, especially across borders, has always been one of the core values of the progressive movement. It is also the only way we can tackle the climate crisis and racism,” the signatories of the solidarity campaign wrote.
