Kurdish Women in Iran
During World War I, Kurdish women suffered from attacks of Russian and Turkish armies. In 1915, Russian army massacred the male population of Mahabad and abused two hundred women. Reza Shah issued his decree for coercive unveiling of women in 1936. According to government correspondence, there was no need for unveiling in Kurdistan, since women were usually unveiled. Nevertheless, government treated the colorful traditional Kurdish female custome as ugly and dirty and it had to be replaced with civilized(i.e. Western) dress. Kurds called this forced dress as Ajami rather than European.
Republic of Mahabad encouraged women's participation in public life and KDPI launched a political party for women which promoted education for females and rallied their support for the republic. In August 1979, the Iranian Army launched an offensive to destroy the autonomist movement in Kurdistan. Kurdish organizations such as Komala recruited hundreds of women into their military and political ranks. Within its own camps, Komala abolished gender segregation and women took part in combat and military training.
Over the years, Kurdish women assumed more roles in the Iranian society and by 2000, a significant number of Kurdish women had become part of the labor force, while an increasing number of females engaged in intellectual activities such as poetry, writing and music. On the other hand, discriminatory laws against women and domestic violence forced many women to commit suicide, most commonly through self-immolation.
Read more about this topic: Kurdish Women
Famous quotes containing the words women and/or iran:
“Women have their heads in their hearts. Man seems to have been destined for a superior being; as things are, I think women generally better creatures than men. They have weaker appetites and weaker intellects but much stronger affections. A man with a bad heart has been sometimes saved by a strong head; but a corrupt woman is lost forever.”
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