Assita Kanko

Assita Kanko (born 14 July 1980) is a Belgian journalist, human rights activist and politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019 representing the New Flemish Alliance.[3]

Assita Kanko

MEP
Member of the European Parliament
for the Dutch-speaking electoral college of Belgium
Assumed office
2 July 2019[1][2]
Personal details
Born (1980-07-14) 14 July 1980
Godyr, Burkina Faso
NationalityBelgium
Political partyNew Flemish Alliance (2018–present)
Mouvement Réformateur (2012–2018)

Biography

Kanko was born in Godyr, Burkina Faso in 1980. She survived FGM as a child and has since campaigned for the practice to be banned. Kanko has also worked with the AHA Foundation founded by Ayaan Hirsi Ali to combat FGM, forced marriages and human rights abuses.[4]

After the murder of the influential journalist Norbert Zongo, she studied journalism and became a human rights activist[5] Kanko moved to the Netherlands in 2001 to study journalism and later settled in Brussels. She became a Belgian citizen in 2008.[6]

Kanko was elected as a municipal counciller in Ixelles for the French speaking Mouvement Réformateur in 2012.[7][8] In 2018, she joined the Dutch speaking New Flemish Alliance party, stating that she supported the policies of the N-VA's migration spokesman Theo Francken and that stronger policies were needed to tackle human trafficking and illegal immigration.[9]

Kanko was elected to the European Parliament on the N-VA's list in 2019 and currently sits as a Vice-Chairwoman on the European Conservatives and Reformists group.

Kanko has described herself as a women's rights activist and founded an organisation called Polin to encourage equal opportunities and more female involvement in politics. She has spoken of the importance of defending European Enlightenment values, having responsible immigration policies and has argued for the stronger integration of immigrants into both European and Western society instead of pursuing multiculturalism.[10][11]

In addition to her political work, Kanko has worked as a columnist for De Standaard.

References
  1. "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. "Key dates ahead". BBC News. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. News, Flanders (27 May 2019). "Far-right and far-left gains in Belgian European Parliament elections". vrtnws.be. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  4. "Survivor of FGM, Assita Kanko, Fights for Human Rights for Everyone". 27 May 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  5. Alleen Elvis blijft bestaan - Assita Kanko | VRT NU (in Dutch), retrieved 14 December 2019
  6. "Assita Kanko: "Almost ten years Belgian and I am still waiting for the party"". 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  7. "Assita Kanko: "Almost ten years Belgian and I am still waiting for the party"". 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  8. "Assita Kanko opts for the N-VA". 14 December 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  9. "Assita Kanko opts for the N-VA". 14 December 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  10. "Survivor of FGM, Assita Kanko, Fights for Human Rights for Everyone". 27 May 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  11. "Assita Kanko opts for the N-VA". 14 December 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.


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