Soraya Post
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1 July 2014 – 2 July 2019
ConstituencySweden
Personal details
Born
Soraya Viola Heléna Post

(1956-10-15) 15 October 1956
Gothenburg, Sweden
Political party Swedish
Feminist Initiative
 EU
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Alma materGothenburg University

Soraya Viola Heléna Post (born 15 October 1956) is a Swedish politician who was a member of European Parliament from Sweden. She is a member of the Feminist Initiative, part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.[1]

Career

Post has worked with questions about national minorities at Västra Götaland County justice and equality committee, and has also worked with question surrounding the Romani people and she also helped starting Agnesbergs folkhögskola in Gothenburg in 2007.[2] She has been a commissioner at Sveriges Television.[3]

In February 2014, Post was chosen as the party's top candidate for the 2014 European Parliament election in Sweden.[4][5] In the election on 25 May 2014, the Feminist Initiative won one seat in the European Parliament with Post taking the party seat.[6] On 7 June 2014, Post joined the S&D group in the European Parliament.[7]

While Post's election has been widely seen as the party's first European representation,[8] former Liberal People's Party MEP Maria Robsahm had in 2006 defected to the Feminist Initiative, representing the party in the European Parliament until 2009. Post however became the party's first elected MEP[9] and the first Romani in Swedish history to be chosen as a candidate for a political party.[10][11][12] Also, Post and Damian Drăghici from Romania were the only MEPs with Romani background at the time.[13]

In addition to her committee assignments, Post served as a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Western Sahara,[14] and was an outspoken supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations.[15]

Soraya Post is also the initiator of the EU Roma Week, a yearly event that takes place in Brussels in connection to the International Roma Day on 8 April. The week consists of a series of events organized and co-hosted by the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Council of Europe, the City of Brussels, several Members of European Parliament (MEPs) from various political groups, the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) and many civil society organisations.[16]

Personal life

Post has Romani ancestry through her mother, and she has been working actively for the rights of Roma people in Sweden and in Europe. Her father was a German-born Jew. [17][18]

Debate over child marriages

Post's eldest daughter entered into an unofficial marriage/Romani engagement at sixteen years of age which was approved by the Romani community.[19] In 2014, the relationship led to public debate in Sweden where critics accused Post for holding a cultural relativistic position and not opposing child marriages. Post responded by referring to the relationship as an engagement, wrote that the engagement had happened 20 years ago and her position on the issue had evolved and that she clearly was against child marriages.[20][21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ DeHaas, Caroline. "We need a feminist voice in Europe – these elections can be a new beginning". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Soraya Post upprörd över nedlagd utredning". GP.se. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Årsstämmor 2010". FS.se. 30 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Ahlander, Johan (20 April 2011). "Swedish feminist party wins EU seat with anti-racism drive". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "European Elections 2014: The Rise of Sweden's Feminist Initiative Party". International Business Times. 21 May 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Larsson, Mats J. (21 May 2014). "Soraya Post: "Vi skapar historia i hela världen"". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Stor brittisk tidning pekar ut Soraya Post som extremist". HelaGotland.se. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "Nästa Bryssel för Soraya Post". Expressen. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Stoeffel, Kat. "Meet the EU Parliament's (Likely) First-Elected Feminist Party Member". Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Fredrik Mellgren (9 February 2014). "Historiskt namn toppar FI:s sedel". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Soraya Post: The Situation of Romani people in Europe". Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  12. ↑ "A First: Sweden Elects Soraya Post of the Feminist Initiative Party to the European Parliament". Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  13. ↑ "Two Roma MEPs elected". EUobserver. 27 May 2014. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Members Archived 2018-05-08 at the Wayback Machine European Parliament Intergroup on Western Sahara.
  15. ↑ "Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly". Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  16. ↑ "EU Roma week". ARDI. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Fi framstår som EU-valets mest federalistiska parti" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "Jag fick aldrig hålla fröken i handen" (in Swedish). Vgregion.se. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Allt handlar om mänskliga rättigheter". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  20. ↑ Soroya Post (5 June 2014) Det räcker inte att fördöma barngifte Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine (in Swedish) Aftonbladet
  21. ↑ Maria Hagberg (9 June 2014) ”Det privata är politiskt” Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine SVT
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