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One of the foremost political figures of this generation, Zarifa Ghafari has inspired millions of women around the world with her bravery and dedication towards making a change.
Born in 1992, she went on to become the youngest mayor of Afghanistan when she was appointed in 2018, at the mere age of 26. Ghafari has survived the weight of being a young woman in a position of power in Afghanistan amid the Taliban resurgence. Now, an upcoming Netflix documentary, produced by Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, is all set to cover this young Afghan woman's story.
Titled In Her Hands, the documentary is expected to arrive on Netflix on November 16, 2022. Directed by Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen, the film first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Ghafari also appeared as a guest.
Five quick facts about Zarifa Ghafari
1) She is among the handful of female mayors of Afghanistan and the youngest to be appointed
Being from a country where women are subjected to oppression, Zarifa Ghafari is one of Afghanistan's few female mayors, alongside Azra Jafari and Khadija Zahra Ahmadi. Appointed to the office at the age of 26, Ghafari is the youngest woman to hold this position so far.
Her appointment sparked mass protests and criticism from the Afghans, especially the Taliban.
2) Challenges from local politicians forced Ghafari to take up office almost nine months later
In 2018, after being appointed as the mayor of Maidan Shahr, by Afghanistan’s president Ashraf Ghani, protests forced the young politician to stay out of office for nine months. Even her parents asked her to step back from the position.
She finally assumed her duties after Maidan Shahr’s governor resigned and a social media campaign went viral.
3) Zarifa Ghafari survived multiple assassination attempts after becoming the Mayor
Zarifa Ghafari had a tough few years with the rapidly rising threat of the Taliban. She was targeted time and again by attackers. After her return from the U.S. State Department’s International Woman of Courage Award in 2020, attackers opened fire at her car.
She also survived a particularly brutal attack when she was set on fire. In her memoir, Zarifa, she recalled this incident:
"A putrid black smoke rose from my feet. Then, like a thunder clap, the agony, as if a fanged dog was tearing chunks of flesh from me, with acid then poured onto the wounds."
4) Her father, Abdul Wasi Ghafari, was assassinated in 2020
In November 2020, Abdul Wasi Ghafari was shot dead outside his house by the Taliban. Zarifa believes that her father was killed because she was the mayor, something that the Taliban were staunchly against, ever since she had been appointed.
In her memoir, she writes:
"When they understood they couldn’t kill me, they killed my dad...It was my dad’s dream too, that I stand my ground."
5) Zarifa Ghafari was listed amongst the 100 Inspiring Influential Women by BBC
In 2019, the BBC listed Zarifa in their list of 100 Inspiring and Influential Women around the world. She was also chosen as the International Woman of Courage by the US Secretary of State in 2020.
After the Taliban took over the Afghanistan government in mid-2021, Zarifa Ghafari was granted asylum in Germany, where she currently resides with her husband, mother, and five sisters.
The documentary, In Her Hands, will premiere on November 16, 2022.
