Like many others, Mahshid Najafi, who was born in Iran in 1952, and her husband had hoped for a liberalization of society at the end of the 1970s. However, the threat became ever greater after the revolution under Khomeini's rule, so they left their country in 1985. Najafi initially went to the USA alone via Istanbul, where she gave birth to her son. Because there were better prospects for her in Germany, she followed her husband to Germany via Turkey. She has lived in Offenbach since 1985 and has been committed to promoting integration and reducing xenophobia ever since. On Thursday, July 6, she was awarded the Integration Prize of the Year 2023 at a ceremony in the free religious community. Head of Integration Wilhelm presented the certificate and the prize money of 1,000 euros. "Mahshid Najafi knows how to bring the perspective of immigrants into the discourse. Without offending others, she succeeds in putting her finger in the wound caused by populism, xenophobia and anti-democracy," said Martin Wilhelm, Head of the Department of Social Affairs and Integration, who chaired the jury, in his statement.
Offenbach author Ingrid Walter then painted a vivid picture of the honoree, recounting the stages of Mahshid Najafi's escape from Iran, the stages of her flight and her arrival in Offenbach. The numerous professional, political and voluntary commitments of the award winner, who is still committed to fighting discrimination, xenophobia and the rights of women here and in Iran, also bear witness to this. In her speech, Walter also referred to the autobiography that Mahshid Najafi published last year, "Like Moon and Sun", which describes her exciting life and integration in Germany. Najafi is currently preoccupied with the current protests in her home country, and in her acceptance speech she also pointed out Germany's paradoxical attitude to the violent death of Jina Mahsa Amini: "On the one hand, the persecution of women and supporters, i.e. those who stand up for women's rights in Iran, is condemned, while on the other hand negotiations on the nuclear deal with the regime in Iran are resumed." That is why she is donating half of the prize money to the Iranian Initiative, in which she is involved, and half to the "Bunt statt Braun" initiative, in which she has been involved from the very beginning.
The group Artemis & Band provided the musical backdrop. Their singer Artemis Bahrami reminded the audience once again that singing is forbidden to women in Iran, along with many other things.
The event was broadcast as a livestream and can be viewed for another month at the following link: https://ogy.de/pfi2023 (opens in a new tab)