Golriz Ghahraman had been a rising star in New Zealand politics, a former UN human rights lawyer who made history in 2017 by becoming the first refugee elected to parliament, per the BBC. However, the 43-year-old native of Iran resigned Tuesday after amid media allegations (complete with CCTV video) that she shoplifted three times from two clothing stories. "I fell short. I'm sorry," Ghahraman wrote in a statement that did not explicitly mention the shoplifting allegations, per the New York Times. "The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a member of Parliament."
Ghahraman belongs to the Green Party, and leader James Shaw said she has been the subject of repeated threats, including from white supremacists, over her gender, her nationality, and various political positions, including her support of Palestinians. After a series of death threats in 2019, she was assigned a security escort, notes the Guardian. In her statement, Ghahraman said she did not want to excuse her behavior, but she wrote that the "mental health professional I see says my recent behavior is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognized trauma."
Ghahraman fled Iran as a child with her family, and they were granted political asylum in New Zealand. In 2020, she revealed a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. In regard to the shoplifting scandal, she wrote: "It's not a behavior I can explain because it's not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand I'm not well." For now, Ghahraman wrote that she would focus on recovery and try to "find other ways to work for positive change in the world." (More New Zealand stories.)
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