On the evening of 26 January, Gökay Akbulut, a Kurdish Alevi member of the German parliament, shared on Instagram that she had been harassed and racially abused by a group of male football fans on a train journey from Heidelberg to Stuttgart. Akbulut found herself surrounded by a group of men chanting far-right slogans, including AfD (Alternatif für Deutschland) rhetoric. Akbulut began filming the group, but one man threw a beer bottle at her head, injuring her. She sought medical treatment from a hospital, where it was confirmed that her injuries were not serious.
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In the aftermath of the attack, Akbulut called on all politicians to tone down their rhetoric and take a stand against racism and right-wing extremism, warning that the growing social climate of hostility towards migration was making such attacks more possible. She also called on the VfB Stuttgart football club to take a clear stance on how it intends to tackle right-wing extremism within its ranks.
Ines Schwerdtner, federal chair of the left-wing party Die Linke, expressed solidarity with Akbulut, writing on Twitter: “Solidarity and sympathy for our comrade and MP @AkbulutGokay, who was racially abused and hit with a bottle by right-wing football fans on a train to Stuttgart. Never alone, always together. We stand with you, Gökay “.
The Confederation of Mesopotamian Societies in Germany (KON-MED) strongly condemned the incident, calling it an expression both of right-wing extremism and of misogyny. “This attack is not only a clear indication of the rise of right-wing extremism, but also an embodiment of the hatred directed against women, especially immigrant women who are politically active,” said KON-MED’s co-chairs Ruken Akça and Kerem Gök. They stressed that women who are politically active, especially those from migrant communities, are often targets of hatred, incitement and violence.
KON-MED called for decisive action against the normalisation of such hatred and violence, whether directed against women, migrants or political figures. They affirmed that the struggle for democracy must include actively confronting misogyny, which undermines the core values of society.
