Who are the Kurds?
Map of Kurdistan region and intersecting nations. Source: Wars in the World |
Kurdistan is a
territory in the south of the Caucuses in the mountainous regions that
primarily intersect Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. The Kurdish people have been fighting for
independence for over a millennium, but their current efforts can reflect the
most recent century of their history; fervently fighting neighboring entities
for their chance at independence – but non of their efforts have proven
successful.
The current
population of the Kurdish people stands between 10 and 15 million. The group’s massive population and long-standing
yet fruitless fight for statehood has led the region to be known as the “Invisible
Nation”. They are a group of non-Arab
people who speak a language related to Persian and are predominantly Sunni
Muslim.
Why does this matter right now?
The terror group
ISIS that has swept the Middle East is aligned with extremist Sunni Muslims –
killing Christians, Shia Muslims, and any others who do not adhere to their
means of extremism in their wake. The Invisible Nation of Kurds, although
predominantly Sunni, have served as THE front line against ISIS since the
group’s rise in 2014 – holding areas like Kobane lest they fall to the terror
group.
Centuries ago, the
Kurds were fighting ethnic groups like the Yazidis
(you may recognize the groups name from the headlines of Yazidis trapped on
Mount Sinjar). But today, Kurds are
joining – and often leading
the fight for the survival of this very ethnic group.
However, some of
the bravest fighters in the war on ISIS are the women of Kurdistan. Women that have certainly caught the eye of
the West.
Female Fighters of Kurdistan
In November 2014, Ruwayda Mustafah
Rabar posted an article in Global Voices calling attention the Western
‘obsession’ with the Kurdish female fighters – noting that the women of
Kurdistan have been fighters for centuries, and only recently have we chosen to
acknowledge their existence.
Kurdish Peshmerga Forces. Source: Flickr |
However, I think the obsession she notes – is more of a captivation. Most notably due to the fact that the West –
and America in particular – have been bombarded with images of what Muslim
women look like, what their place in the Arab world is, and what their attire
is meant to look like – through Western lenses, of course. The Kurdish female fighters do not fit into
any of these little boxes the Western perspective has designed for them – so
naturally, like anything that doesn’t fit our predesigned molds, they have become
a cultural fascination, as opposed to be recognized for the norm of this
beautiful cultural diversity that has existed for centuries.
And what else could lead to this obsessive fascination?
The fact that the Kurds have units composed entirely of female fighters. In the US, a nation that prides itself on
striving for equality, women are not currently permitted in combat after being
banned in 1994 – although Leon Panetta announced in 2013 that the Pentagon
would lift
the ban, it will not become effective until 2016.
So why is it that a Muslim ethnic group has created entire units
of female fighters, when the Western pillar of
equality has not yet done it?
Because the Kurdish forces are fighting a psychological and ideological war as
they see to #PsychOutISIS. ISIS
terrorists allegedly believe that they will “go straight to hell” if they are killed by a woman,
and these brave women make that a certainty when they fight.
All female Kurdish forces. Source: Right to speak |
In an interview
with Richard Engel, one of the leaders of the Kurdish female fighting forces in
Kobani gave some background to their reasoning for joining their men on front
lines and blazing their own path against ISIS.
"We stand and fight, especially here in the Middle East, where women are treated as inferiors. We stand here as symbols of strength for all the women of the region."
From here in Washington, DC – I can honestly say that they
are symbols of strength for women far beyond the region – and though I cannot
join their fight I can share their message.
They make it clear that #WomenCanChangeTheWorld
SIDE NOTE: Why did we focus on the Kurds
this week?
Taking a look at the women of Kurdistan may seem a bit out
of our science and STEM-focused wheelhouse. Aside from our goal to promote
strong and inspiring women, the people of Kurdistan were a group I had wanted
to shed a light on in particular. My own
relatives are members of an ethnic group with a state that never was – Pontus. Pontus
was a Greek region of Asia Minor on the south coast of the Black Sea – the
Pontian Greek people were ethnically cleansed from modern-day Turkey at the
beginning of World War I. I see so many of the struggles and cultural triumphs
in the people of Kurdistan that the Pontian community shares, so next week we
will be diving further into who the Pontian Greeks were – and are today. Stay tuned to hear about this and other
missing history that may not have made it into your old social studies
textbooks.
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