Catalonia Elects Its First Female Muslim MP

Catalonia elected its first female Muslim MP in the region’s elections last Thursday, bringing the number of Muslim parliamentarian representative to three.
The December 21st election marked the 12th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, during which pro-independence parties took a majority in regional elections.
The thirty-six-year-old Moroccan was placed 10th on the list of the Barcelona’s Republican Left Party of Catalonia, becoming the first woman of the Catalon community to join the legislative body of Catalonia.
“I am taking this step at such a complicated time for Catalonia because I believe it’s necessary to civilize part of society – that minority which believes that another minority is second-class,” said Driouech, Morocco World News reported.
Driouech, who migrated along with her parents from Morocco to Catalonia at the age of 9, works as an integration counselor at her town’s Town Hall.
“When you are little and you speak Catalan and Spanish well, people say ‘how sweet’. Then you get older, you start to speak up and debate things, and that doesn’t go down well. Now you’re a rival,” she said.
The Muslim MP was number 10 on the list for the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), which won 32 seats, with a percentage of 21.4% of votes
There are 515,000 Muslims in Catalonia, comprising almost 15% of the population.