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Kurdish Feminism and the Kurdish Nationalist Movements the Position Kurdish feminism and the Kurdish nationalist movements The position of Jineology within the transnational guerrilla war for independence in the twentieth and twenty-first century, in the context of the Kurdish identity and Kurdish feminism. Presented to the Faculty of Arts of Ghent University, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Gender and Diversity Classical master thesis Name: Marije van Huffelen Student number: 01806149, University of Ghent Coordinator: Dr. Sophie Withaeckx (VUB), and Prof. Iman Lechkar (VUB) Date and year: 8 August 2019 Word count: 23.986 Kurdish feminism and the Kurdish nationalist movements This master thesis is an exam document which is not corrected for any errors found. Publications may refer to this work but are subject to written permission from the coordinators mentioned by name on the title page. Deze masterproef is een examendocument dat niet werd gecorrigeerd voor eventueel vastgestelde fouten. In publicaties mag naar dit werk worden gerefereerd, mits schriftelijke toelating van de promotor(en) die met naam op de titelpagina is vermeld.” 1 Marije van Huffelen Acknowledgments The process of writing this thesis has been a long, complicated, and exhausting one. I started the process in February, after just having completed the first exam period of my Master’s, which was also my first Belgian exam period. Hence the exhaustion. Nevertheless, I have thoroughly enjoyed this process. I have gained more knowledge and insights on the Middle East, its conflicts and the position of women in the region. Specifically, I have learned more about the Kurds and the Kurdish struggle. I have come to realize that there is always more than one side to the story and that organizations can have similar interests and be in conflict with each other. Furthermore, it is crucial to maintain a critical perspective, and to my dismay, I am now aware that academic articles can be biased. Lastly, I have learned to discuss and critique the literature in a way that presents more than one perspective. This thesis, however, would not have been possible without the help and inspiration of several people. First and foremost, I want to thank my Lord and God who has helped me through this process, gave me the strength to keep going and took control over my calendar. Secondly, I want to thank Dr. Sophie Withaeckx and Prof. Iman Lechkar, who have guided me throughout this process and have, on several occasions, provided me with feedback. Thirdly, I also want to mention Dr. Marlene Schäfers, who not only co-authored the article ‘Jineology: from women’s struggles to social liberation’, but who also taught the guest lecture that first piqued my interest in the subject. Furthermore, Dr. Schäfers has also been of assistance during the process of writing this thesis by sending several articles and websites which were of use in the writing of the theoretical framework. Lastly, I want to thank friends and family, who formed my support system when I did not think I would ever finish this thesis, or who came to the library with me so we could study together. 2 Kurdish feminism and the Kurdish nationalist movements Table of Content Overview of the used terminology .......................................................................................... 5 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 8 Method ..................................................................................................................................... 11 The setup of this research.................................................................................................. 11 Theoretical framework ...................................................................................................... 12 Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 13 Objectivity ......................................................................................................................... 14 Theoretical framework .......................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 1 - The Kurds ....................................................................................................... 17 1.1 - Introduction .............................................................................................................. 17 1.2 - Who are the Kurds? .................................................................................................. 17 1.3 - Cultural characteristics ............................................................................................. 18 1.4 - Kurdistan .................................................................................................................. 19 1.5 - Population ................................................................................................................. 22 1.6 – Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 2 - Kurdish identity and nationalism ................................................................. 24 2.1 - Introduction .............................................................................................................. 24 2.2 - Identity formation, ethnicity, and nation-states ........................................................ 25 2.3 - Kurdish identity ........................................................................................................ 28 2.4 - Kurdish conflicts ....................................................................................................... 31 2.5 - Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 35 Chapter 3 - Jineology and Kurdish feminism .................................................................. 37 3.1 - Introduction .............................................................................................................. 37 3.2 - The increased participation of women ...................................................................... 39 3.3 - The significance of the participation of women ....................................................... 43 3.4 - Öcalan’s ideology .................................................................................................... 48 3.5 - Öcalan’s inspiration and implications for the Kurds ............................................... 54 3.6 – A critique on Öcalan’s ideology .............................................................................. 57 3.7 - Jineology ................................................................................................................... 60 3.8 - Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 64 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 66 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 71 3 Marije van Huffelen References ............................................................................................................................... 72 Appendix A: The Newroz festival and the myth of Kawa the Blacksmith ....................... 84 The importance of myths .................................................................................................. 84 Kawa the Blacksmith and the Festival of Newroz ............................................................ 85 Kurdish myths as a discourse of Kurdish nationalism ...................................................... 87 Appendix B - Kurdish nationalist movements ..................................................................... 89 The rise of nationalism in Iran .......................................................................................... 89 The rise of nationalism in Iraq .......................................................................................... 93 The rise of nationalism in Syria ........................................................................................ 96 The rise of nationalism in Turkey ..................................................................................... 99 Appendix C: The Komala, Committee for the Rebirth of Kurdistan ............................. 103 Appendix D - Rojava, or the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria ........................ 105 Appendix E – List of inaccessible sources .......................................................................... 108 4 Kurdish feminism and the Kurdish nationalist movements Overview of the used terminology Kurdish titles The Kurds have many titles and use different ways to signal one’s status. Romano (2006) cites Finkel and Sirman, who give a clear overview of the most common titles. To refer to the Kurdish elite, usually, the titles ‘agha’, ‘asiret beyi’, ‘shaikh’ and ‘sayyvid’ are used. The definitions of these titles are, according to Finkel and Sirman (1990, as cited in Romano, 2006), who cite Lale Yalcin-Heckan, as follows: “Briefly, aga/agha is a term with many meanings, but in relation to Eastern
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