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Kurdish women and their struggle for
equality
14.12.2010
By Ruwayda Mustafah Rabar |
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December 14, 2010
Kurdish women are largely divided into four regions;
Syria, Turkey, Iran and Kurdistan. Their problems
and struggles are equally divided. Oppression
towards women in these four regions varies, and the
great female personalities from these regions have
fought, and campaigned for different things. When
speaking about Kurdish women, we have to be specific
about their region. Oppression and sexism towards
women in these regions have operated on different
levels, and in different ways. In addition,
references to Kurdish women in this context refers
to women in the north of Iraq, and south of
Kurdistan.
Historically, Kurdish women have lived on an equal
footing with men in many areas. Kurdistan was not an
industrial region, as it has become. People relied
on localized farming. Women worked with men for the
survival of their farms, and income. They fought
against external forces which sought to create
in-cohesion within Kurds and oppress the Kurdish
masses. Their support for military activism against
oppression was not limited to fighting, but also
nursing wounded soldiers, and providing food to
soldiers, in this context they acted as military
chefs. Women fought defending Kurdish property and
livelihood, like men. The “fragile” and “weak” image
of women which has been created in the mindsets of
many Kurds was almost non-existent when Kurdish men
and women relied on each other for survival.
We rarely read, or even speak about great female
personalities that were both Muslim and Kurdish.
Women were heads of tribes, and even became
‘chiefs’. Some of these great female personalities
include Adila Khan from Halabja, Habsa Khan Nakeeb
from Sulaimaniyah, Parexan Khatoun from Kurdish
turkey. These women are rarely talked about in
feminist literature, and within Kurdish circles.
This explains why Kurdish women rarely speak about
these great female personalities among themselves,
from their own lands.
There are many examples which illustrate the ways in
which Kurdish women are subject to men, and
restricted in advancing their intellectual
abilities. The fault does not necessarily rest with
men only, but also with women who are complicit with
sexism towards them. While the government has
attempted to radically improve the image of women in
Kurdistan -- the deadly silence among Kurds in
speaking out against injustice towards women, for
the sake of maintaining a “pretty” international
image is silently destroying Kurdish women. Women in
Kurdistan are not facing the same oppression and
discrimination that western,www.ekurd.netand
in particular Englishwomen did in the past. Their
struggles are different because they have a
government in power that claims to uphold equality
of the sexes, but in reality there is an
overwhelming chauvinistic attitude that seeks to
undermine female empowerment by restricting women
from high positions within the Government, and equal
job opportunities.
Tribal influence, and families with great political
advantage must not be above the law. The law applies
to everyone, regardless of class. When the rights of
women, or a particular woman is violated among the
“elite” or those with political influence, they must
be brought to justice. Equally, tribal leaders must
not influence governmental bodies under any
circumstances. The advancement of the rights of
women in education, politics, and socially that have
been made recently should be recognized and
appreciated, but it should not act as a basis for
disregarding numerous violations to the rights of
women in Kurdistan.
In order for women to advance intellectually,
politically and socially, it is essential that women
start initiatives for the rights of women locally
with specific targets. In Kurdistan, researches
conducted which attempt to bring to light the
situation of women is often overclouded by those who
want to create an acceptable international image of
Kurdistan when it comes to the human rights of
women, even if they happen to be violated. Women
themselves would be complicit in covering up, or
even attempting to justify heinous crimes against
women, with the illusional perception that they are
protecting the Kurdish culture. In reality they are
destroying the core principles of it by not actively
speaking against injustice done to Kurdish women.
Progress can be achieved when men and women
recognize that they are equal before the law. This
can be achieved through local organizations with
specific targets to improve female education,
intellectual thinking, and freedom to make their own
choices -- in education, political view and
religious perspective. These local organizations
must focus on governmental institutions, in
particular work with the police to not disregard
violence against women in the name of “honor” or
turn the blind eye through monetary means.
Ruwayda Mustafah Rabar (born in 1989, Kurdistan)
is a British-Kurdish writer, and law student at
Kingston University law school. She has travelled
eastern countries throughout her youth, and has
written several articles about gender, Islam and
Kurdistan. She is currently the editor of
KurdishRights.org, and the founder of MCS -- a
student-based community support group for those
diagnosed with cancer from an ethnic background. You
may visit her website at ruwaydamustafah.com
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