Assita Kanko

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name =

| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|size=100%|MEP}}

| party = N-VA (2018–present)

| image = Assita Kanko (53786370946) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Assita Kanko in 2024

| term_start = 2 July 2019

| term_end =

| parliament = European

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|7|14|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Godyr, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso)

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse =

| relations =

| children = 1

| residence =

| alma_mater = JM International

| occupation = Journalist, politician, human rights activist

| website = [http://www.assita-kanko.be www.assita-kanko.be]

| citizenship = {{hlist|Belgium|Burkina Faso}}

| otherparty = MR (2012–2018)

| birth_name = Assita Adoua Kanko

| office = Member of the European Parliament for
Belgium

| constituency = Dutch-speaking electoral college

| office1 = Member of the Ixelles City Council

| termstart1 = 14 October 2012

| termend1 = 14 October 2018

}}

Assita Adoua Kanko (born 14 July 1980) is a Burkinabé-born Belgian journalist, human rights activist, author and politician.

She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019 representing the New Flemish Alliance and currently serves as a vice-chairwoman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2019/05/27/far-right-and-far-left-gains-in-belgian-european-parliament-elec/|title=Far-right and far-left gains in Belgian European Parliament elections|date=27 May 2019|website=vrtnws.be|accessdate=10 June 2019}}

Biography

=Early life and education=

Kanko was born in Godyr, Burkina Faso in 1980 to a Muslim family and grew up in a small village where her father worked as a teacher and according to Kanko was engaged in multiple polygamous relationships. She was subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) as a child and has since campaigned for the practice to be banned. In a 2016 interview, Kanko explained that she was tricked into the procedure by her mother who told her she was being taken to a friend's house to play. At a young age, she discovered books by French feminist author Simone de Beauvoir and European enlightenment philosophers which made her question the society in which she was raised.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theahafoundation.org/survivor-of-fgm-assita-kanko-fights-for-human-rights-for-everyone/|title=Survivor of FGM, Assita Kanko, Fights for Human Rights for Everyone|date=27 May 2019|publisher=AHA Foundation|accessdate=16 September 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/2/6/memories-of-fgm-i-was-screaming-in-pain-and-fear |title=Memories of FGM: 'I was screaming in pain and fear' |access-date=2024-09-08}}

She has said her first exposure to politics was the assassination of Burkina Faso president Thomas Sankara. After the murder of the influential Burkinabè journalist Norbert Zongo in 1998, she studied journalism in Ouagadougou and took an interest in human rights activism.{{Citation|title=Alleen Elvis blijft bestaan - Assita Kanko {{!}} VRT NU|url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnu/a-z/alleen-elvis-blijft-bestaan/6/alleen-elvis-blijft-bestaan-s6a8-assita-kanko/|language=nl|access-date=2019-12-14}} Kanko moved to the Netherlands in 2001 to continue journalism studies and settled in Brussels in 2004 after meeting her husband. She became a Belgian citizen in 2008.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bruzz.be/politiek/assita-kanko-bijna-tien-jaar-belg-en-ik-wacht-nog-steeds-op-het-feest-2018-02-15|title=Assita Kanko: 'Almost ten years Belgian and I am still waiting for the party'|date=15 January 2018|website=bruzz.be|accessdate=16 September 2019}} In 2010, she became a member of the think tank Liberales and worked as a parliamentary aide to the Flemish Open VLD party. From 2011 to 2015, Kanko worked in communications for the bank BNP Paribas before studying a master's degree in international politics at the CERIS-ULB Diplomatic School of Brussels. From 2015 to 2019, she worked for the Belgian Technical Cooperation (now Enabel) as a director and in 2018 was an advisor to Mouvement Réformateur (MR) politician Denis Ducarme on issues related to violence against women.{{Cite web|url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20180209_03349222 | title=Assita Kanko (MR) past voor lokale verkiezingen|date=10 February 2018|publisher=De Standaard|accessdate=8 September 2024}}

=Political career=

Kanko was elected as a municipal councillor in Ixelles for the French speaking Mouvement Réformateur in 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://english.n-va.be/news/assita-kanko-opts-for-the-n-va|title=Assita Kanko opts for the N-VA|date=14 December 2018|website=n-va.be|accessdate=16 September 2019}} In 2018, she joined the Dutch speaking New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) 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.

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. In view of the apparent withdrawal of the United States from certain^{which ones?} global political issues, she supports a more active role of the European Union and assumes that if not, China would attempt to fill the void. In her role as an MEP she has also advocated for issues facing the African continent and called for increased cooperation in coordinating medical provisions for African nations during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Hutchinson|first=Lorna|date=2020-06-29|title=Assita Kanko: Delivering value through action|url=https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/assita-kanko-delivering-value-through-action|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-27|website=The Parliament Magazine|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814142326/https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/assita-kanko-delivering-value-through-action |archive-date=14 August 2020 }}

In 2023, Kanko supported Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and was critical of the EU's response, arguing the Union "woke up too late" to the problem and "took peace for granted". She argued against neutrality with Russian president Putin and supports sending surplus military equipment to Ukrainian forces, stating: "If I were Bambi, unarmed, why would I negotiate peace with a lion? I would see peace, but the lion would only see a meal."{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/talking-europe/20230526-europe-s-military-support-for-ukraine-has-the-eu-risen-to-the-occasion|title=Europe's military support for Ukraine: Has the EU risen to the occasion?|date=26 May 2020|publisher=France 24|accessdate=21 July 2023}}

In 2023, an investigation was opened against Kanko following complaints about her intimidating her parliamentary staff. This investigation was closed due to insufficient proof.{{cite web|access-date=25 May 2023|date=25 May 2023|publisher=Politico|title=Harassment claims hit Belgian MEP Kanko|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/harassment-claims-hit-belgian-mep-kanko-eu-parliament/}}{{cite web | url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2023/07/28/klacht-tegen-assita-kanko-is-geseponeerd/ | title=Intimidatieklacht tegen Europees Parlementslid Assita Kanko (N-VA) geseponeerd | date=28 July 2023 }}

Following the 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, Kanko called for Hamas to be "dismantled" during a speech in the European Parliament and argued the West should "not be naive about radical Islam." She has also called on Belgium and the European Union to review its funding towards UNRWA, arguing the organisation has become corrupted by Hamas. She has also spoken out against antisemitism in European and American universities.{{Cite Instagram |user=assita_kanko |postid=p/C2QxKf9sQE9/ |title=We must unequivocally condemn Hamas' brutal terrorist attack on Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023, which triggered the current crisis situation. |date=January 18, 2023}}

In March 2024, Kanko was one of twenty MEPs to be given a "Rising Star" award at The Parliament Magazine's annual MEP Awards.{{cite news|url=https://www.mepawards.eu/rising-stars/|title=MEP Awards 2024 - The Rising Stars|date=21 March 2024|work=The Parliament Magazine|accessdate=26 March 2024}}

Kanko was reelected during the 2024 European Parliament elections and resumed her role as vice-chairwoman of the ECR group. In the 2024 Belgian municipal elections, she was elected as a councilor for the N-VA in Vilvoorde.{{cite news|url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20240805_94035984|title=Totale ommezwaai in Vilvoorde, Assita Kanko (N-VA) is geen kandidaat-burgemeester meer: "Ik wil nog wat tijd kunnen maken voor mijn gezin"|date=8 May 2024|work=nieuwsblad.be|accessdate=8 September 2024}}

=Activism and other work=

In addition to her political work, Kanko has also been active as an author (see Bibliography), as an advisor to companies on how to best implement Sustainable Development Goals, and as a columnist for De Standaard.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.assita-kanko.be/wie-is-wie/assita-kanko|title=Assita Kanko|website=www.assita-kanko.be|accessdate=31 January 2024}} In her writing, 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. As a victim of FGM, Kanko has also worked with the AHA Foundation founded by Ayaan Hirsi Ali to combat FGM, forced marriages and human rights abuses.

In 2017, Kanko received the Ebony Spur award from the N-VA before she became a member, an annual award given by the party to an individual from a non-Flemish background who has made a special contribution to Flemish society. The award was presented by N-VA general secretary Louis Ide who justified the prize by stating: "As a politician, she tells a story about security, about the economy, about education that is a breath of fresh air in French-speaking Belgium. As a writer, her story gives female migrants the strength to escape the social pressure that they often still experience within their own communities and thus really build a new life here."{{cite news|url=https://www.n-va.be/persbericht/n-va-zet-schrijfster-en-politica-assita-kanko-in-de-bloemetjes|title=N-VA zet schrijfster en politica Assita Kanko in de bloemetjes|date=28 January 2017|work=N-VA|accessdate=8 September 2024|archive-date=28 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128190516/https://www.n-va.be/persbericht/n-va-zet-schrijfster-en-politica-assita-kanko-in-de-bloemetjes|url-status=dead}}

Personal life

Kanko is married to a Belgian man and has one daughter (born 2008) and lives in Brussels with her family.

Bibliography

Omdat je een meisje bent. Verhaal van een besneden leven (Because you are a girl. Story of a circumcised life) s.l. : Doorbraak, 2019
Leading ladies: maak je ambities waar (Leading ladies: realize your ambitions) Tielt: Lannoo, 2018
De tweede helft. Tijd voor een nieuw feminisme (The second half. Time for a new feminism) [Tielt] : Lannoo, 2015{{Cite web |title=Assita Kanko |url=https://www.assita-kanko.be/wie-is-wie/assita-kanko |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=www.assita-kanko.be|language=nl}}

References

External links

{{Official|https://www.assita-kanko.be/ }}
[https://www.facebook.com/KankoAssita Assita Kanko] on Facebook
{{Instagram|assita_kanko}}
[https://twitter.com/Assita_Kanko Assita Kanko] on X (Twitter)
[https://www.standaard.be/plus/tag/column-assita-kanko Columns by Assita Kanko in De Standaard (in Dutch)]
[https://www.n-va.be/wie-is-wie/assita-kanko Personal page of Assita Kanko on the N-VA website (in Dutch)]
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=assita+kanko&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image Assita Kanko] on Wikimedia Commons

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Category:1980 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century women MEPs for Belgium

Category:Activists against female genital mutilation

Category:American Enterprise Institute

Category:Belgian human rights activists

Category:Belgian journalists

Category:Belgian people of Burkinabé descent