Kurdish woman top-five candidate for Swedish party in EU parliamentary elections

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdish woman from Sweden is the fifth-ranked candidate for the Swedish Social Democratic Party and hopes to become a member of the European Union Parliament.

Evin Incir, a 34-year-old from the city of Uppsala, north of the Swedish capital Stockholm, says she wants a seat in the EU Parliament to push forward the Kurdish cause and address the Kurdish question more fervently.

Incir told Kurdistan 24 that her background as a Kurd is significant and helped her secure a spot as a top-five candidate for the Social Democratic Party because she is passionate about human rights and justice.

“The oppression and injustice that Kurds have suffered and continue to suffer are indeed important issues which I intend to bring up if I am elected to the EU Parliament,” she stated.  

“The issues of social justice and democracy, for instance; it is one thing to read about these injustices, but an entirely different thing to have experienced them.”

Related Article: Six Kurds elected to Swedish parliament

Incir underlined the importance of raising Kurdish issues in the EU Parliament, adding that it is even more substantial if a Kurd who has lived through and is closely aligned with these issues be the one shedding light on them.

“The EU Parliament needs to learn about the ongoing injustices which Kurds continue to suffer today in all four parts of the Greater Kurdistan,” the 34-year-old told Kurdistan 24. “If people don’t know about an issue then they are unable to help.”

“I want to win a seat in the EU Parliament so people can further understand the plight of the Kurds, but also to push forward policies that will benefit the Kurdish people.”

Before becoming a candidate for Sweden’s Social Democratic Party, Incir served as an assistant international secretary for the party between 2014 to 2016.

The EU is expected to hold parliamentary elections between May 23-26, 2019. The Social Democratic Party currently has five of Sweden’s 21 allocated seats in the EU Parliament.

(Additional reporting by Awara Hawrami)