ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two women of Kurdish descent are running in Belgium’s municipal elections, which are scheduled for Sunday.
Sayran Zawiteyi, originally from Duhok in the Kurdistan Region, is running in Leuven and Karine Rashidova, a Kurd born in the former Soviet Union, is a candidate in Asse.
“My party works on 25 points for the city’s municipality to benefit everyone,” Zawiteyi, a candidate on the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) ticket, told Rudaw’s Hemin Abdullah during an episode of the Diaspora program.
Leuven is a university town, home to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
“This is a city of students, which is why housing prices are very high,” Zawiteyi said, adding that one of the most important issues she intends to work on is housing for low-income families and persons with special needs.
CD&V, a Flemish party based on Christian values, advocates for the importance of family, welfare, health, and equal income. The party has three ministers in the Belgian government and three in the Flemish government.
Rashidova is a 56-year-old woman of Kurdish descent. She has worked as an interpreter and chairs an association that promotes Kurdish-European cooperation.
“I have been working in the municipalities for the past 15 years, with much experience in law and working in the municipalities. If elected, I can work on issues that matter to the residents of Asse,” Rashidova told Rudaw.
Rashidova is running on Team Burgemeester, an “alliance between our party, Christian Democrats, and the Social Democrats. Our list is number nine, and we have 33 candidates. I am candidate number 15,” she said.
The elections will be held on Sunday. Belgians will vote to elect local councils for 19 municipalities.
