Her Story, Our History:

This collection presents powerful stories, insightful interviews, and articles highlighting the contributions of Kurdish female figures throughout history and in contemporary Kurdistan.

Şînda Ekrem Şînda Ekrem

sê jin

Şînda Ekrem remembered meeting three extraordinary women in western Kurdistan, and their remarkable stories have stuck with her ever since her path crossed with theirs briefly.

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Shang Salah Shang Salah

Choosing Freedom with Dilpak Megeed

Dilpak Megeed is a Yazidi- Kurdish director from the Shariya town of Duhok. Despite the obstacles in her path, she is a resolute filmmaker whose captivating energy helped her to forge a successful career in the film industry.

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Hana Ibrahim Hana Ibrahim

Xanim Bayîz: Life as a Communist Mother & Peshmerga

On the 18th February 2022, The Jiyan Archives received a public submission in the form of a single photograph of a young man’s grandmother with the following excerpt added ‘Studio portrait of Xanim Bayîz, a peshmerga of the communist party in Slemani’. On our venture to discover more about the woman in the photograph, we were given her only ever documented interview with the late Kurdish writer Ruxosh Ali.

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Rojbîn Arjen Rojbîn Arjen

Hêja Netirk: modernising Kurdish music.

Hêja Netirk is a Kurdish multidisciplinary artist - singer, songwriter, actress and producer. We discussed traditional views on female artists, living in exile and how music acted as a revolutionary force for her - both against the Turkish state and her family which had deep rooted sexism which often stood in her way when she was developing her craft.

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