Arezo Zoe Safi’s hostile rhetoric against the Hazara community

In my earlier post, I forgot to mention an important point: Arezo Zoe Safi is actively spreading hatred and hostility toward the Hazara community in Australia. Arezo, who was born and raised in Australia and has likely only visited Afghanistan briefly, has no direct lived experience of the country’s ethnic tensions, yet she chooses to vilify Hazara advocates speaking out against systemic violence. She is the niece of Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, a prominent Afghan politician who formerly led the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and later served as the acting Minister of Defense. 

On her Facebook page in 2023, she, while unemotionally controlled, launched a disturbing attack against Sitarah Mohammadi, a respected Hazara lawyer and activist, questioning why Sitarah should be allowed to speak about the ongoing genocidal violence targeting the Hazara people. Arezo appears particularly outraged at any suggestion that Pashtun groups, among others, bear responsibility for these atrocities. In her post, she dismissively refers to Sitarah as “an amateur advocate,” despite Sitarah’s impressive credentials: a provost scholar at the University of Oxford (2019), a BA in International Relations and Human Rights from Monash University, and a Juris Doctor from Monash Law School. Sitarah has also published several academic articles. Also, read the comments below her post and see how she engages with commentators by spreading lies and hatred.

A screenshop from Arezo Zoe Safi's Facebook page

A quick search of Arezo Zoe Safi reveals not much about professional achievement, only a pattern of inflammatory and divisive rhetoric. So, where does her virulent attitude and false confidence come from? It appears rooted in a sense of ethnic privilege. Arezo, as a member of the Pashtun ethnic group, seems to leverage her identity to perpetuate a dangerous sense of ethnic superiority, even from within Australia. This privilege emboldens her to attack Hazara individuals and silence their voices.

The most disturbing aspect of Arezo's conduct is her misuse of legal language to legitimize her claims. She notably uses the hashtags #hatespeech and #racialdiscrimination, terms that, under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA) in Australia, are associated with serious legal implications. Ironically, the very rhetoric she employs against the Hazara community appears to violate the principles outlined in the RDA. In the 2021 submission, Arezo is listed as a solicitor, and it is evident that much of the inflammatory language can be attributed to her and it appears that she is the primary person responsible for the submission. 

This makes her actions not only deeply offensive but also potentially unlawful. The Hazara community in Australia has grounds to pursue legal recourse under the RDA, potentially holding Arezo and her collaborators accountable for hate speech and racial discrimination.

At its core, Arezo's message is clear: Hazara people should stay silent about the historical and ongoing pain they have endured under Pashtun-dominated rule. Rather than offering empathy or seeking understanding, she chooses to attack the victims. This is not only cruel, it is dangerous.