Zarifa Ghafari

In Detail

Zarifa's historic appointment as Mayor in July 2018 was met with a nine-month delay, marked by local protests and threats fuelled by her age and gender. Despite these challenges, she bravely assumed her mayoral duties, facing relentless threats from the Taliban and ISIL, she survived three assassination attempts. Her advocacy extended to condemning the Taliban for her father's tragic death in November 2020. Notably, she initiated an anti-litter campaign and made a poignant appeal to then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to safeguard women's rights during the uncertain period of Taliban-US negotiations. In the wake of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan's government in mid-August 2021, Zarifa, accompanied by her husband, mother and five sisters, fled the country. She was granted asylum by the German government. Her remarkable journey and resilience garnered international attention, leading to the release of a Netflix documentary about her life in 2022.