Hillary Clinton,Zarifa Ghafari-Acknowledge #AzraJafari as Afghanistan’s First Female Mayor

Hillary Clinton,Zarifa Ghafari-Acknowledge #AzraJafari as Afghanistan’s First Female Mayor

Started
8 September 2022
Signatures: 1,910Next goal: 2,500
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Why this petition matters

Started by Homira Rezai

Netflix published a release date for its documentary, ‘In Her Hands’, which will premiere on 9th September 2022 at the Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary is about an Afghan woman, Zarifa Ghafari, who is presented as “Afghanistan’s first female mayor”, as claimed by HiddenLight Productions’ co-founders, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. The achievement of Afghan women like Zarifa Ghafari should be celebrated by everyone. However, there is an example of misinterpretation, historical negationism and manipulation: Zarifa Ghafari is not the first female mayor in Afghanistan, as stated by Hillary Clinton and depicted by the latest Netflix documentary and other media outlets.


On her website, Ms Ghafari writes, “She is the first female mayor of Afghanistan.” She has also used this narrative to speak on media and international platforms. This false statement indicates that she is either ignorant of history or ignores other women as trailblazers. 


Afghanistan's first female mayor was a Hazara woman, Azra Jafari, appointed by President Hamid Karzai in 2008 when Zarifa Ghafari was just 16 years old. Ms Jafari served as a mayor until 2014. Afghanistan's second female mayor was another Hazara woman, Khadijah Ahmadi, who served as the mayor of the city of Nili in Daikundi province from 2018 until the fall of Kabul in 2021.


On 22nd August 2022, Hillary Clinton posted a picture of Zarifa Ghafari with the caption, “Chelsea and I believe that the story of Zarifa Ghafari, Afghanistan’s first female mayor and the youngest ever to be appointed, deserves to be told.” This sparked a social media campaign by many women and Hazara rights activists calling out Hillary Clinton, Netflix, and Zarifa Ghafari on this false information and narrative. Hillary Clinton has since edited the caption to “... one of Afghanistan’s first female mayors…”, however, this is not enough to address a deep-rooted problem that has affected the Hazara people for centuries.


This petition is to correct historical blunders, promote journalistic fact-checking and protest against misrepresentation and denial of other women's rights. It is to acknowledge the achievements of two Hazara women who paved the way for the likes of Zarifa Ghafari to become one of female mayors. Therefore, we ask:

  1. Hillary Clinton must publicly acknowledge that Azra Jafari is the first female mayor of Afghanistan
  2. Zarifa Ghafari must correct her website and publicly apologise and acknowledge Azra Jafari as the first female mayor of Afghanistan
  3. Netflix must publish a statement on how they conducted their due diligence and fact-checking on Zarifa Ghafari’s story, depicting her as the first female mayor of Afghanistan in its documentary

Please read this commentary by Homira Rezai for background information on this issue: https://bit.ly/3QxM1i4 

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Signatures: 1,910Next goal: 2,500
Support now
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