Amineh Kakabaveh – Fighter for women’s rights

In autumn 2021, the fate of the Swedish government rested on her shoulders. Now Amineh Kakabaveh’s fight is more relevant than ever. She does not want to sacrifice the human rights of the approximately 40 million Kurds (12 million in Iran, who are subject to repression by the Islamist regime) to Sweden’s accession to Nato.

Reading and discussion with Amineh Kakabaveh

Event organised by the Fritz Bauer Forum
in co-operation with Rojava-Solidarität Bochum

We welcome you:

TOBIAS FETZER
Fritz Bauer Forum

AGIR MUSTAFA BIRHÎMEOĞLU
Rojava Solidarity Bochum

MAX LUCKS
Member of the German Bundestag
Representative of the parliamentary group DIE GRÜNEN in the Committee on Human Rights
and Humanitarian Aid

AMINEH KAKABAVEH
Swedish human rights activist
(with translation)

Excerpts from the book Amineh – No bigger than a Kalashnikov. A Peshmerga in Parliament will be read by:
BARBARA DAHLHAUS and MAGDALENA KÖHLER (Fritz Bauer Forum)

After the great interest shown during her first visit, Amineh Kakabaveh is coming to Bochum again. She is a Swedish Kurdish woman with roots in Iran, where she fought as a socialist for the rights of women and minorities. In Iran, around twelve million Kurds are also subjected to oppression by the Islamic regime.

Amineh’s international fight for fundamental rights continued for over fourteen years in the Swedish parliament. Through her vote, Madgalena Andersson was elected Prime Minister of Sweden in 2021. In the middle of last year, her vote was once again decisive following a motion of no confidence in the incumbent government.

Influential campaigner for the rights of Kurds

During her second visit to Bochum, Amineh Kakabaveh will talk more about her life as a peshmerga. She will also talk about her plans now that she is no longer a candidate in the parliamentary elections in Sweden on 11 September 2022.

She will also give an assessment of the current situation in Sweden, where Turkish President Erdoğan is making his approval of the country’s application to join NATO conditional on the Swedish government extraditing Kurds who have found protection from political persecution there to Turkey. They are specifically threatened with extradition to the persecuting state. How is Sweden dealing with this extortionate demand? What is the social climate like in this conflict and is there solidarity with the Kurds under threat?

Comments on „Amineh – No bigger than a Kalashnikov“

„Reading Amineh’s exciting and important book, I was impressed by her dramatic journey to freedom and her courage, but I also felt deep sadness. Iran, with its wonderful people and rich culture, could have taken its place among the world’s secular, liberal democracies had the Shah and his US cronies not been so short-sighted: What a loss!“
⏤ Björn Ulvaeus Artist, ABBA

„‚Amineh – No Bigger than a Kalashnikov‘ is a fascinating story. In her unique biography, Kakabaveh not only describes commitment and experiences that go far beyond everyday life in Sweden, but also a political stance. Her perspective is not based on a specific identity as a Kurdish immigrant, but on the universal values that unite us as human beings.“
⏤ Ann Charlott Alstadt, Aftonbladet

„A gripping story, written with great candour, about resilience despite vanishingly low chances of success. In a gripping tour de force, the book sheds light on the ingenuity of Kurdish women and their fight for equal rights. Amineh’s account of a childhood characterised by poverty, war, revolution and exile describes the upheavals faced by millions of Kurdish people.“
⏤ Masih Alinejad, Iranian-born journalist and women’s rights activist