FREEDOM MOVEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF FEMINIST LEADERSHIP IN KURDISTAN by AMANDA METCALFE B.S., Texas A&M University, 1999 M.A., University of Colorado, 2002 A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Leadership, Research, and Foundations 2018 This dissertation for the Doctor of Philosophy degree by Amanda Metcalfe has been approved for the Department of Leadership, Research, and Foundations by Sylvia Mendez, Chair Corinne Harmon Robert Mitchell Phillip Morris Wilbur Scott Date:12/04/2018 ii Metcalfe, Amanda (Ph.D. Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy) Freedom Movement: A Case Study of Feminist Leadership in Kurdistan Dissertation directed by Associate Professor Sylvia Mendez ABSTRACT The Kurds have endured a long struggle to secure a destiny of freedom. Kurdish women are now rising up to achieve their own freedom after decades of war, genocide, and statelessness. This study began in Kurdistan, Iraq with an intimate look at the Kurdish Women’s Freedom Movement, a feminist movement that is shifting its society away from social normative powers that have been dominant for generations. This exploratory case study was based upon academic reports, observations, and interviews with Kurdish female leaders. The case was used to create a critical understanding of feminist leadership from an age-old culture. Using Social Role Theory, this study investigated the experiences of Kurdish women moving into new leadership roles and shifting norms that allow such leadership to emerge. Transcripts from interviews with 20 Kurdish women from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and the US and investigative field observations of Kurdish women’s leadership stories were used to highlight a remarkable case of leadership. It contributes to a body of leadership knowledge that supports positive freedom of women globally. The overarching questions posed in this study are: 1. How is feminist leadership being expressed/developed in Kurdistan? 2. How is feminist leadership in Kurdistan changing the positions of women in society? Primary themes that emerged from the data address impact of history, processes that legitimize women, prominent leadership roles that contribute to legitimacy of feminist leadership, and themes that describe the social impact of feminist leadership in Kurdistan. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the following individuals for their support and guidance. I owe special gratitude to Sylvia Mendez, my committee chair, who has guided me with perseverance, and care throughout this study. I offer thanks and acknowledgement to Corrine Harmon, my methodologist, who directed me toward this program and supported me throughout with what she knew was pure passion for a people. Phillip Morris, an enduring teacher and committee member, deserves recognition for offering unwavering support and provided sincere recommendations to a cause he believed to be worthy. Robert Mitchell also provided time and support to this project, providing his expertise of the region. To Wilbur Scott, I owe thanks for influencing my wonder for small wars, occupation, insurgency, guerrilla warfare, and the moral sophistication within the humans surrounded by such ordeals. His life and academic contributions will forever inspire me. I would like to acknowledge my DFBL family, the group of people who inspired me to attain a doctorate, and for allowing me to witness their passion for critical thought and dedication to young people every day. Special thanks to Allwan, my Kurdish sister and translator, who fearlessly led me to Kurdistan, showing me every day the courage and passion that lies in the hearts of Kurdish women, and the real struggle that exists for them as they dare to lead. My family also played an important role in the making of this project insofar as they gave me young courage and permission to fight, in my own way, for the people and the causes I cherish. Tremendous thanks to Kenn Briggs, who joined with me in a journey that he nor I knew would be so challenging and helped make this project possible and more bearable when things got rough. Not many would send—with excitement—their partners off to a war-torn land to seek something so mysterious. Finally, and most importantly, I am forever grateful to the iv extraordinary women of this world who have been slaves to men, used as weapons of war, and who now use their stories and strength to promote peace and empowerment for women across the globe. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 Socio-Historical Backdrop .................................................................................. 2 The Kurdish Women’s Freedom Movement ........................................................ 6 Purpose Statement ................................................................................................ 9 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 11 Theoretical Base ................................................................................................. 12 Leadership ............................................................................................... 16 Contending Leadership Theory ............................................................... 20 Supporting Leadership Theory ................................................................. 21 Significance of the Study .................................................................................... 22 The Significance of Theory ...................................................................... 23 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 24 Social Revealing of Kurdish Women ................................................................. 28 Freedom Movement ............................................................................................ 31 Female Defense Units ............................................................................... 32 Direct Democracy ..................................................................................... 32 Benefits to Human Rights ........................................................................ 33 Connecting Leadership to Freedom Movement ....................................... 34 Systems of Gender .............................................................................................. 36 Systems of Gender in Kurdistan ............................................................... 37 vi Systems of Gendered Leadership in Kurdistan ........................................ 38 History and Outcome of Anarcha-feminism ............................................ 39 Global Comparisons of Feminist Leadership Movements ................................. 41 III. METHODS ............................................................................................................. 46 Research Approach ............................................................................................. 46 Guiding Questions ........................................................................................ 47 Epistemology ...................................................................................................... 47 Feminist Research .................................................................................... 49 Exploratory Case Study ...................................................................................... 52 Context and Access ............................................................................................ 53 Kurdistan Data .......................................................................................... 54 United States Data .................................................................................... 56 Data Collection Procedures ................................................................................ 57 Kurdistan Interviews ................................................................................ 59 US Interviews ........................................................................................... 65 Field Observations, Iraq ........................................................................... 69 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 70 Coding ........................................................................................................... 71 Category Building .................................................................................... 72 Theme Development ................................................................................ 73 Trustworthiness .................................................................................................. 75 Thick Description ..................................................................................... 76 Triangulation ............................................................................................ 77 Persistent Observation .............................................................................. 77 vii Member Checking .................................................................................... 78 Researcher’s Position ............................................................................... 79 Research