Fatima Hamed

Fatima Hamed Hossain (born 1978)^[1] is a Spanish lawyer and politician. She founded the Movement for Dignity and Citizenship (MDyC) in 2014 and has served as a member of the Assembly of Ceuta since 2015, the first Muslim woman to lead a group in the assembly. In 2021, she was one of five founders of Sumar.

Biography

Born in Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa, Hamed was raised by Moroccan parents in Los Rosales, a neighbourhood with social problems. In 1998, she enrolled with the National University of Distance Education (UNED), where she qualified as a lawyer and later joined the faculty.^[1][2]

In late 2014, Hamed left the Caballas Coalition, and set up the Movement for Dignity and Citizenship (MDyC) ahead of the 2015 Ceuta Assembly election.^[3][4] The party came fourth with 11% of the votes and three seats, making her the first Muslim woman to lead a group in the assembly.^[5] In 2019, the party fell to 7% and lost a seat.^[6]

In 2021, Hamed received attention during a Spanish–Moroccan border crisis when she criticised the arrival of Vox leader Santiago Abascal in Ceuta and labelled him persona non grata. She was attacked by Carlos Verdejo, the party's spokesman in the Assembly of Ceuta, who called her an advocate of Jihad and Sharia and proposed her deportation to Morocco.^[7]

In November 2021, Hamed was one of five left-wing women who set up a new political platform, alongside deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz, mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, vice president of the Valencian Community Mónica Oltra and member of the Assembly of Madrid Mónica García.^[1]

References

1. "¿Quién es Fatima Hamed Hossain? La quinta invitada del acto de Díaz, Colau, Oltra y García" [Who is Fatima Hamed Hossain? The fifth woman invited to Díaz, Colau, Oltra and García's function]. El Periódico de Aragón. EFE. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
2. Caubilla, Roberto (15 November 2021). "Fátima Hamed: de un barrio en exclusión social de Ceuta a ser foco de la política nacional" [Fatima Hamed: from a socially excluded neighbourhood of Ceuta to being in the spotlight of national politics]. HuffPost (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 December 2022.
3. Testa, Gonzalo (4 December 2014). "El MDyC de Fatima Hamed se presentará "oficialmente" este jueves en 'El Faro del Estrecho'" [Fatima Hamed's MDyC will be presented "officially" this Thursday in 'El Faro del Estrecho'] (in Spanish). Ceuta al Día. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
4. "Fatima Hamed (MDyC): el cambio también debe llegar a Ceuta porque es necesario" [Fatima Hamed (MDyC): change will also come to Ceuta because it is necessary]. La Verdad de Ceuta (in Spanish). 20 May 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
5. "Fatima Hamed, la primera musulmana que lidera un grupo parlamentario en Ceuta" [Fatima Hamed, the first Muslim woman to lead a parliamentary group in Ceuta]. La Información (in Spanish). 25 May 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
6. Coronado, Juanjo (27 May 2019). "Conozca aquí los nombres de los nuevos diputados de la Asamblea" [Get to know the names of the new deputies in the Assembly] (in Spanish). Ceuta TV. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
7. Testa, Gonzalo (12 July 2021). "Fatima Hamed: "Si acatas lo que Vox te impone eres el 'morito bueno', si te levantas contra su xenofobia, promarroquí"" [Fatima Hamed: "If you abide by what Vox imposes on you, you're the "Good Little Moor", if you rise up against their xenophobia, you're pro-Moroccan]. ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 December 2022.