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Derya Karadag (left) and Dilan Yazicoglu are candidates in Sunday's election in the German region of Nordrhein-Westfalen. Photos: Rudaw TV
COLOGNE, Germany – Two Kurdish women in Cologne running in upcoming local elections have vowed to support Germany's most marginalised if they are elected to municipal council.
Derya Karadag is was born in Cologne to a Kurdish family from Turkey. A lawyer since 2013, she joined the Greens in 2015, and is now their candidate in her hometown for elections taking place in Germany's Nordrhein-Westfalen region on Sunday.
“I come from a political family. We Kurds are all in politics because our fate is linked to political decisions," Karadag told Rudaw. "I am a worshipper of democracy, and a lawyer."
"When I graduated from college, I realized that you have to be active [because] when you become a member of a party, you see that there are a few women,” she said.
Karadag wants to “raise the flag for women and become the representative of a community whose number is, unfortunately, small in the parliament.”
Of candidates taking part in the Nordrhein-Westfalen region election, only 24 percent are women. Of Nordrhein-Westfalen's 23 current mayors, only one is a woman.
Though Angela Merkel has been the Chancellor of Germany for 16 years, only 31.1 percent of German lawmakers are women.
Karadag said that the Greens have contributed more to women's rights in Germany than other parties. Of party members, 41 percent are women – a higher percentage than any other party in Germany.
Another Greens candidate is 27-year-old Dilan Yazicoglu, born in Erzurum, eastern Turkey to a Kurdish family.
Yazicoglu's campaign centers on racism in Germany, which she was inspired to fight after a February 2020 attack on two shisha bars in the town of Hanau, just over 160 kilometers southwest of Cologne, killed nine people. The 43-year-old attacker, Tobias Rathjen, went on to kill himself; he was known to have expressed racist views prior to the attack.
“I was very much affected by the Hanau attack. It was life-changing...I have taken part in many protests,” the young candidate told Rudaw.
“I have decided to enter politics for my future, and the future of women and young people. Therefore, I want to be part of the municipal council, rather than giving this responsibility to another person. As a Kurdish woman, I want to fight against racism,” she said.
Reporting by Alla Shally in Cologne and Hemen Abdulla in Dusseldorf
Translation by Karwan Faidhi Dri
Derya Karadag is was born in Cologne to a Kurdish family from Turkey. A lawyer since 2013, she joined the Greens in 2015, and is now their candidate in her hometown for elections taking place in Germany's Nordrhein-Westfalen region on Sunday.
“I come from a political family. We Kurds are all in politics because our fate is linked to political decisions," Karadag told Rudaw. "I am a worshipper of democracy, and a lawyer."
"When I graduated from college, I realized that you have to be active [because] when you become a member of a party, you see that there are a few women,” she said.
Karadag wants to “raise the flag for women and become the representative of a community whose number is, unfortunately, small in the parliament.”
Of candidates taking part in the Nordrhein-Westfalen region election, only 24 percent are women. Of Nordrhein-Westfalen's 23 current mayors, only one is a woman.
Though Angela Merkel has been the Chancellor of Germany for 16 years, only 31.1 percent of German lawmakers are women.
Karadag said that the Greens have contributed more to women's rights in Germany than other parties. Of party members, 41 percent are women – a higher percentage than any other party in Germany.
Another Greens candidate is 27-year-old Dilan Yazicoglu, born in Erzurum, eastern Turkey to a Kurdish family.
Yazicoglu's campaign centers on racism in Germany, which she was inspired to fight after a February 2020 attack on two shisha bars in the town of Hanau, just over 160 kilometers southwest of Cologne, killed nine people. The 43-year-old attacker, Tobias Rathjen, went on to kill himself; he was known to have expressed racist views prior to the attack.
“I was very much affected by the Hanau attack. It was life-changing...I have taken part in many protests,” the young candidate told Rudaw.
“I have decided to enter politics for my future, and the future of women and young people. Therefore, I want to be part of the municipal council, rather than giving this responsibility to another person. As a Kurdish woman, I want to fight against racism,” she said.
Reporting by Alla Shally in Cologne and Hemen Abdulla in Dusseldorf
Translation by Karwan Faidhi Dri
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