Theorising Women and War in Kurdistan: A Feminist and Critical Perspective

Theorising Women and War in Kurdistan: A Feminist and Critical Perspective

Nazand Begikhani, Wendelmoet Hamelink and Nerina Weiss introduce a special issue of Kurdish Studies on women and war in Kurdistan. They argue that Kurdish women’s experiences need to be read through feminist theory, anthropological work on violence and research on gender and nation. They contrast older feminist views that cast men as warriors and women as passive victims with newer approaches that stress women’s agency and the way gender intersects with other identities.

Drawing on historical accounts, the authors show how Kurdish women’s activism grew within the national movements in Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Rojava, shaped by war and often subordinated to party politics. They argue that agency is complex: women may resist, adapt to or reinforce social norms, and narratives of victimhood can both empower and constrain them. They connect this to the articles in the issue, which cover survivors of the Anfal genocide, relatives of the disappeared before the European Court of Human Rights, Yezidi women and refugee policy, an Iraqi Kurdish novel and online graffiti by perpetrators of violence. They also look at how media and nation-branding use images of women fighters.

They conclude that the effects of war last long after the fighting, in everyday violence, displacement and memory, and call for gender-sensitive research and stable, peace-oriented institutions.

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