Esmah Lahlah

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Esmah Lahlah
Esmah Lahlah, 2022.png
Lahlah in 2022
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 December 2023
Political party GroenLinks
Other political
affiliations		 Labour (since 2023)
Residence(s) Tilburg, Netherlands

Asmah "Esmah" Lahlah (born 13 October 1979) is a Dutch politician of GroenLinks-PvdA (GL-PvdA).

Contents

Early and personal life

Lahlah was born to a Dutch mother and Moroccan father. [1] Her father moved to the Netherlands in 1970, following his father. Lahlah has two sisters, and she was raised Muslim. She went to a Christian school and attended Arabic lessons. Lahlah has worn a hijab since around the age of eight or nine. [2]

Career

Lahlah has worked as a university lecturer. [3] On 18 June 2018, she was appointed as party-independent alderwoman of employment, income, and poverty policy in Tilburg. In 2022, she joined GroenLinks and became lead candidate for the party in Tilburg in the 2022 municipal elections. She was elected to the municipal council, but she left to become an alderwoman once again. She also joined the Labour Party (PvdA) in 2023, when the party planned to merge into GroenLinks–PvdA. She served as alderwoman in Tilburg until 1 December 2023, when she was placed second on the party list of GroenLinks-PvdA in the March 2023 general election. [4]

Lahlah was elected to the House of Representatives, and she became her party's spokesperson for justice and security. [5] [6] She is working on a bill to enshrine the right to subsistence in law. [7] She also proposed to further regulate the debt collection industry to reduce predatory practices, through prohibiting the resale of debt and setting a limit to collection costs that could be charged. [8]

Following November 2024 Amsterdam riots targeting supporters of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C., Prime Minister Dick Schoof blamed a specific group of young people with a migration background for the attacks, and he said that the events pointed to a broader integration issue. Integration state secretary Jurgen Nobel stated that a significant portion of Islamic youth did not endorse Dutch norms and values. [9] [10] Lahlah criticized the cabinet's response, arguing that its statements were unsubstantiated and that making generalizations about population groups caused fear among minorities. In response to discussions about integration, she said that people with a migration background should be enabled to participate in society. According to Lahlah, proposals to revoke Dutch nationality for dual citizens prosecuted for antisemitism would reduce dual citizens to second-class citizens. [7]

House committee assignments

Electoral history

Electoral history of Esmah Lahlah
YearBodyPartyPos.VotesResultRef.
Party seatsIndividual
2023 House of Representatives GroenLinks–PvdA 2 217,78725Won [12]
2025 House of RepresentativesGroenLinks–PvdA 2

References

  1. ↑ "Biografie, onderwijs en loopbaan van Esmah Lahlah | Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal". 9 December 2023. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Lahlah, Esmah (28 August 2024). "Esmah Lahlah (GL-PvdA): 'Als je je best doet oprecht te leven en voor anderen te zorgen, is God genadig'" [Esmah Lahlah (GL/PvdA): 'If you are trying to live genuinely and to care for others, God will have mercy']. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Interviewed by Sjirk Kuijper. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  3. ↑ Darroch, Gordon (8 September 2023). "Tilburg lecturer is surprise number two on PvdA/GroenLinks list". DutchNews.nl. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Dr. A. (Esmah) Lahlah". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Esmah Lahlah". GroenLinks-PvdA (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Portefeuilles Tweede Kamer" [House of Representatives portfolios]. GroenLinks–PvdA (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  7. 1 2 Lahlah, Esmah (21 November 2024). "Kamerlid Esmah Lahlah (GL-PvdA) over het 'integratieprobleem' dat premier Schoof ziet: 'Wanneer hoor je er dan wél bij?'" [MP Esmah Lahlah (GL–PvdA) about 'integration issue' that Prime Minister Schoof identified: 'When do you belong?']. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Interviewed by Hanneke Keultjes. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  8. ↑ Simonides, Jorik (9 February 2025). "GroenLinks-PvdA wil af van hoge winstmarges voor incassobureaus" [GroenLinks–PvdA wants to end high profit margins for collection agencies]. BNR Nieuwsradio (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  9. ↑ Du Pré, Raoul (11 November 2024). "Premier Schoof ziet groot probleem met de integratie: 'Hun gedrag is schokkend, moreel volstrekt ontaard'" [Prime Minister Schoof observes major issue with integration: 'Their behavior is shocking, completely morally corrupt']. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  10. ↑ "Na geweld in Amsterdam laait politieke discussie over integratie weer op" [Following violence in Amsterdam, the political debate about integration is sparked again]. NOS (in Dutch). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  11. ↑ "Esmah Lahlah". House of Representatives . Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023](PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 23–31, 199. Retrieved 21 December 2023.


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