Amineh Kakabaveh

Amineh Kakabaveh (Kurdish: ئامینە کاکەباوە, romanized: Amîne Kakebawe, Persian: اَمینه کاکاباوه; born 6 December 1970) is a Swedish independent politician of Iranian Kurdish descent. Having been a member of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan since her youth, she took refuge in Sweden at the age of nineteen and has become a member of the Riksdag, Sweden's parliament.

Early life

She was born in Saqqez, Iran, and had seven siblings. As a child, she worked to sustain her family. At the age of thirteen, she joined the Kurdish guerilla Komala, where she was trained as a fighter. This early experience of assuming responsibility and the hardships of life in the mountains made her more mature. Later, she fled over Turkey and Greece to Sweden. Having found refuge in Sweden at the age of nineteen, she initially worked as a housemaid by day and attended the evening schools. Later, Kakabaveh graduated with a Master of Science from the Stockholm University in philosophy and social sciences.

Political career

Inspired by the French movement Ni Putes Ni Soumises ("Neither Whores nor Doormats"), Kakabaveh founded in 2005 the feminist and anti-racist organization Varken hora eller kuvad. After the 2006 Swedish general election, she became a member of the Riksdag as a substitute Member of Parliament in 2008. In 2019, she was threatened to be expelled from the Left Party as a result of a prolonged conflict with the party leadership. Before the issue was settled, she left the party voluntarily.