RASC News Agency: Mahriya Ashoftah, an Afghanistani-born legal scholar and activist, has secured a seat in the Hamburg State Parliament, marking a significant milestone in her political career. Running as a candidate for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the recent Hamburg parliamentary elections, held on Sunday, March 2, Ashoftah emerged victorious with over 9,000 votes. In a statement shared on her Instagram page, she expressed that while her close associates had anticipated her success, she personally refrained from making any public predictions throughout election day.
As an Afghanistani-German political advocate, Ashoftah has long championed awareness and empowerment, particularly for marginalized communities. During her campaign, she underscored her mission to amplify the voices of Afghanistani migrants in Germany, striving for greater representation and inclusion in the country’s political landscape. A distinguished defense attorney and professor of law at the University of Hamburg, Ashoftah was born in Kabul into a Tajik-Persian-speaking family. Her parents emigrated to Hamburg when she was just a year old, setting the stage for her academic and professional pursuits in Germany.
Ashoftah becomes only the second Afghanistani woman to enter the Hamburg State Parliament, following Zohra Mojaddedi, who served in the legislature over the past four years. Her election victory stands in stark contrast to the plight of millions of Afghanistani women and girls under Taliban rule, where education for females has been systematically banned, barring them from schools and universities. At a time when the Taliban has effectively erased Afghanistani women from public life, Ashofteh’s achievement in securing a seat in the legislature of one of the world’s most powerful nations serves as a testament to the resilience and potential of Afghanistani women if given the opportunity.
