A majority of the Bundestag voted for the journalist and author. Critics accuse her of splitting and having made discriminatory statements. Muslim organizations also criticize Ataman.
Ferda Ataman was elected the new Anti-Discrimination Commissioner by the majority of the Bundestag.
suk. The author and journalist Ferda Ataman is the federal government’s new anti-discrimination commissioner. The 42-year-old was elected by the majority of MPs in the Bundestag on Thursday. The personnel remains delicate even after their election. Critics accuse her of polarizing and dividing society. The post of anti-discrimination officer had been vacant for four years.
The Green Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus had proposed Ataman for the post, triggering a heated discussion. There are also critics in the traffic light coalition. The FDP MP Linda Teuteberg had already announced in advance that she would not vote for Ataman. “She stands in a special way for divisive identity politics, defamation of dissidents and a lack of willingness to differentiate,” she said in an interview with the NZZ. Some Muslim organizations also consider Ataman to be unsuitable for the post. For example, the federal chairman of the Kurdish community in Germany, Ali Ertan Toprak, accuses her of not arguing objectively enough, but of relying on “political riots” and ignoring racism emanating from migrants.
As migrants and victims of various forms of discrimination, we do not feel represented by Mrs. Ferda Ataman. @initiativeMiSS therefore turns to the governing coalition in an open letter: https://t.co/ogzqaHkwIZ
— Ali Ertan Toprak (@toprak_aliE) June 20, 2022
Until recently, Ataman wrote as a columnist about racism, discrimination and her own experiences. She denounces the fact that, having been born and raised here, she is still perceived as a stranger. Her critics see the fact that she ascribed the term “potato” to Germans without a migration background as racism. Ataman’s parents had immigrated from Turkey.
Ataman was, among other things, in the family and integration ministry in North Rhine-Westphalia under Armin Laschet (CDU) and head of department at the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (ADS). She then set up the integration media service – an information platform for journalists. Ataman has also worked as an author, journalist and columnist for various newspapers and magazines. Most recently, she founded a consulting company for diversity.
For the first time, the Bundestag had decided on the management of the anti-discrimination agency. In April, Parliament approved a corresponding amendment to the so-called General Equal Opportunities Act. The previous appointment procedure, in which the Federal Minister for Family Affairs could appoint the head at the suggestion of the Federal Government, had led to complaints from competitors, it said. The position has therefore remained vacant since 2018. The term of office is limited to five years with one re-election.