Assita Kanko criticises the hypocrisy in the European Parliament: “The EU must be a beacon of hope for all women”

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will vote on the report on gender equality in the European Union. This report calls on the European Commission to take legislative initiatives to improve equality between men and women in the European Union. However, there is one major omission in the text: the increasing influence of Islamism on the position of Muslim women.

MEP and women’s rights activist Assita Kanko is disappointed by the hypocrisy of the European Parliament. The text under consideration ignores the elephant in the room when it comes to gender equality: encroaching Islamism and its effects on large groups of Muslim women. The EU must not be blind to this and must tackle and recognise this problem, Assita Kanko believes. “We are therefore calling for a bill to be drawn up in the future that also pays attention to the victims of Islamism. One cannot continue to turn a blind eye. Women such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali or Lale Gül are not isolated cases. They have been and are being threatened with death and are not getting any support. The European Parliament and the European Commission must recognise this reality and integrate it into legislative proposals. If they do not, texts such as this one will remain incomplete and even discriminatory.”

Islamism erodes the foundations of our civilisation

Assita Kanko states that she is ashamed to be part of an institution that turns a blind eye to the disastrous situation of a particular group of Muslim women on European soil: “It is a reality that Islamism is spreading throughout Europe and depriving countless women of their fundamental rights. It is eroding the foundations of our civilisation.”

Cowardly, aloof attitude betrays the fundamental value of gender equality

“The EU must be a beacon of hope and protection for all women,” Assita Kanko argues. “Those who have the power to change things have all too often contented themselves with a cowardly, aloof attitude that betrays one of Europe’s fundamental values: gender equality.”

Appeal to the European Commission: show more courage and give all women a chance

Assita Kanko and her party will only agree to a text if it applies to all women, and reiterates that forgetting a significant proportion of women is tantamount to accepting segregation and promoting inequality. “We will not be part of that.”  Assita Kanko considers the report to be hypocritical and incomplete, and will therefore abstain. “I am calling on the European Commission to show courage and work with the Member States on concrete policies that will better protect all women. These women deserve not only hope but also a chance,” Assita Kanko concludes.