Schaffa, Mudzgan

Mudzgan Schaffa © privat

Mudzgan Schaffa Saghar was born in 1977 in Kabul, Afghanistan. After graduating from high school in 1985, as a woman she was barred from attending university under the totalitarian Taliban regime, so she secretly studied Persian literature at home with her sisters. Due to the radicalizing political situation and the war, Schaffa had to leave her home in 2002. She found refuge in Wolfsburg with her husband and young daughter. She learned German and took part in integration courses and advanced training with a pedagogical focus. Parallel to her German life, Schaffa continued to write poems and short stories for her homeland. In 2014, her first book, Der farblose Apfel, was published by Amini in Kabul, and more books followed. Today, she works as a socio-educational assistant at a Wolfsburg elementary school. She is involved in the municipal integration department and teaches Persian to children.

Festival Content

PERSIAN POETRY IN EUROPEAN EXILE: As much of the fatherland as I’ve got in my suitcase

READING, TALK AND MUSIC – Developments in Iran over the past few decades have forced countless writers into exile, often with little more than their own language in tow. “As much of the fatherland as I have in my suitcase” is a poem about exile by the poet Esmail Kho’i, who passed away in London in 2021.

Abiz, Alireza • Ekhtesari, Fatemeh • Falaki, Mahmood • Schaffa, Mudzgan • Rafani, Roshanak • Aras, Maryam • Abdollahi, Ali • Samawatie, Cymin