Young Turkish girl elected Belgian deputy
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Güven Özalp - Milliyet
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Haziran 16, 2009 00:00
BRUSSELS - Mahinur Özdemir becomes the youngest member of Brussels regional parliament after being elected by preferential votes even though she was 21st on the ballot. She is the only parliamentarian who wears a headscarf. ’The headscarf is my choice,’ Özdemir says
The youngest member of the Brussels regional parliament and the only one who wears a headscarf, Mahinur Özdemir, said recently: "There are people in Brussels who have very different beliefs. I will represent them all."
One of the surprises of the regional elections in Belgium, which were held on the same day as the European Parliament elections, was Özdemir’s victory in the Brussels capital region. Özdemir was ranked 21st on a list created by the Humanist Democratic Center, or CDH, and was considered unlikely to be elected. But the preferential votes she received carried her to parliament.       Â
This was not the first attempt in politics for Özdemir, who was born in Belgium in 1982 and lives in Schaerbeek, an area with a large Turkish popular. A member of Schaerbeek Municipal Council and the eldest daughter in a five-child family, Özdemir speaks French, Flemish, English, a little Spanish and a little Italian.
An atypical profile
Özdemir has an atypical profile. She wears a headscarf, but attended a Catholic school; the political party she chose has a Christian Democrat background.
"I want to focus on subjects like respect, love and tolerance, rather than religion, language and race. I studied at a Catholic school because it was very close to our house, and the level of education was slightly higher in those schools," she said. "The party has a Christian background, but later changed its name. It was very meaningless for it to stay Christian. When you keep that, you close yourself off from a certain part of society."
When asked whether wearing a headscarf is her choice, Özdemir said it was and added that her sister and aunts do not wear headscarves. She said she was been told to delay wearing it in order to keep it from interfering with her education, but said she wanted to do it anyway.
"I was taking it off at school and wearing it outside," she explained. "I wanted to be a lawyer, but could not because wearing a headscarf is forbidden. That was a big disappointment for me. Maybe I could have fought for it back then, but I did not. Actually, I am not struggling for the headscarf. I struggle for my ideas."
Özdemir said wearing a headscarf was not an advantage during her political campaign because people kept asking her about it. There was also an alleged "Photoshop mistake" that resulted in an election picture where her headscarf was not seen.
’A Photoshop mistake’
"They told me it was a Photoshop mistake. I want to believe that," she said. "I am a person with a positive attitude toward life, one who sees the glass as half full. No other political party had a candidate with a headscarf. Therefore our party took a risk by nominating me. Let us not say ’risk,’ but it was an example of courage."
Özdemir said she considers it courageous because of the strong prejudices that exist against covered women. Joelle Milquet, the leader of the CDH, received many messages against her candidacy, and she has received many racist e-mails.
"But I did not lose heart," Özdemir said. "If I cared about such small things, I would forget my real mission, which was to enter parliament and serve people equally. It is behind me now. I felt bad and sometimes cried, but in the end, I did not lose heart toward my mission."
Özdemir also said she does not have a political mission in terms of religion, repeating that wearing a headscarf was her choice: "What I wear concerns me only. I personally think I dress very modernly. "
When asked whether anyone from Turkey’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, called to congratulate her, Özdemir said no, adding that she does not have connections with the country’s ruling party.
"I am not a representative for any of the political parties in Turkey. I do not know enough of the politics in Turkey anyway. I do not follow Turkish politics closely," Özdemir said. "They carry some subjects to the agenda so much, it never ends. You change six [television] channels and the same dialogue is on every one of them. It is like everybody in politics in Turkey is trying to dig each other’s grave. This alienates people from politics."
Breaking prejudices
When asked about her goals, Özdemir said she is letting things find their own way.
"I do my work and will see what happens," she said. "My goal was to enter this parliament, and I achieved that. If I succeed with my work here and I come forward, I am open for new things if the party finds them appropriate. Moving forward slowly, step-by-step, makes more sense."
Özdemir argued that people more readily judge those they do not know and that she intends to break prejudices with her work. "I need to work four to five times harder than others to express myself well," she said. "I am ready for that. I want to be an active parliamentarian; I was elected to actually do stuff, not to sit there for five years."
Özdemir defines her social circle and life in Belgium thusly: "I have friends from very different backgrounds. I have friends with completely opposite views. I have friends who are DJs or ones covered with piercings, and I have friends who attend mosque gatherings. I play saz, and for a while I played the piano. I took solfege lessons. I did theater. I do not limit myself in an environment that suits me. To be honest, I do not go to discos and the like, but that is because I do not like that, not because of limitations."
One of the surprises of the regional elections in Belgium, which were held on the same day as the European Parliament elections, was Özdemir’s victory in the Brussels capital region. Özdemir was ranked 21st on a list created by the Humanist Democratic Center, or CDH, and was considered unlikely to be elected. But the preferential votes she received carried her to parliament.       Â
This was not the first attempt in politics for Özdemir, who was born in Belgium in 1982 and lives in Schaerbeek, an area with a large Turkish popular. A member of Schaerbeek Municipal Council and the eldest daughter in a five-child family, Özdemir speaks French, Flemish, English, a little Spanish and a little Italian.
An atypical profile
Özdemir has an atypical profile. She wears a headscarf, but attended a Catholic school; the political party she chose has a Christian Democrat background.
"I want to focus on subjects like respect, love and tolerance, rather than religion, language and race. I studied at a Catholic school because it was very close to our house, and the level of education was slightly higher in those schools," she said. "The party has a Christian background, but later changed its name. It was very meaningless for it to stay Christian. When you keep that, you close yourself off from a certain part of society."
When asked whether wearing a headscarf is her choice, Özdemir said it was and added that her sister and aunts do not wear headscarves. She said she was been told to delay wearing it in order to keep it from interfering with her education, but said she wanted to do it anyway.
"I was taking it off at school and wearing it outside," she explained. "I wanted to be a lawyer, but could not because wearing a headscarf is forbidden. That was a big disappointment for me. Maybe I could have fought for it back then, but I did not. Actually, I am not struggling for the headscarf. I struggle for my ideas."
Özdemir said wearing a headscarf was not an advantage during her political campaign because people kept asking her about it. There was also an alleged "Photoshop mistake" that resulted in an election picture where her headscarf was not seen.
’A Photoshop mistake’
"They told me it was a Photoshop mistake. I want to believe that," she said. "I am a person with a positive attitude toward life, one who sees the glass as half full. No other political party had a candidate with a headscarf. Therefore our party took a risk by nominating me. Let us not say ’risk,’ but it was an example of courage."
Özdemir said she considers it courageous because of the strong prejudices that exist against covered women. Joelle Milquet, the leader of the CDH, received many messages against her candidacy, and she has received many racist e-mails.
"But I did not lose heart," Özdemir said. "If I cared about such small things, I would forget my real mission, which was to enter parliament and serve people equally. It is behind me now. I felt bad and sometimes cried, but in the end, I did not lose heart toward my mission."
Özdemir also said she does not have a political mission in terms of religion, repeating that wearing a headscarf was her choice: "What I wear concerns me only. I personally think I dress very modernly. "
When asked whether anyone from Turkey’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, called to congratulate her, Özdemir said no, adding that she does not have connections with the country’s ruling party.
"I am not a representative for any of the political parties in Turkey. I do not know enough of the politics in Turkey anyway. I do not follow Turkish politics closely," Özdemir said. "They carry some subjects to the agenda so much, it never ends. You change six [television] channels and the same dialogue is on every one of them. It is like everybody in politics in Turkey is trying to dig each other’s grave. This alienates people from politics."
Breaking prejudices
When asked about her goals, Özdemir said she is letting things find their own way.
"I do my work and will see what happens," she said. "My goal was to enter this parliament, and I achieved that. If I succeed with my work here and I come forward, I am open for new things if the party finds them appropriate. Moving forward slowly, step-by-step, makes more sense."
Özdemir argued that people more readily judge those they do not know and that she intends to break prejudices with her work. "I need to work four to five times harder than others to express myself well," she said. "I am ready for that. I want to be an active parliamentarian; I was elected to actually do stuff, not to sit there for five years."
Özdemir defines her social circle and life in Belgium thusly: "I have friends from very different backgrounds. I have friends with completely opposite views. I have friends who are DJs or ones covered with piercings, and I have friends who attend mosque gatherings. I play saz, and for a while I played the piano. I took solfege lessons. I did theater. I do not limit myself in an environment that suits me. To be honest, I do not go to discos and the like, but that is because I do not like that, not because of limitations."