Posted on Oct 27, 2022
Iran's protesters find inspiration in a Kurdish revolutionary slogan
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https://www.npr.org/2022/10/27/ [login to see] /kurdish-roots-iran-protest-slogan
For 41 days, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in anger over the death of a young Kurdish woman in police custody, even as authorities continue their violent crackdown against them. The demonstrations — honoring the memory of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose Kurdish first name was Jina — have become the largest women's rights movement in Iran's recent history.
One resounding slogan has become the movement's rallying cry: "Jin, jiyan, azadi!" — or "Woman, life, freedom!"
For 41 days, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in anger over the death of a young Kurdish woman in police custody, even as authorities continue their violent crackdown against them. The demonstrations — honoring the memory of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose Kurdish first name was Jina — have become the largest women's rights movement in Iran's recent history.
One resounding slogan has become the movement's rallying cry: "Jin, jiyan, azadi!" — or "Woman, life, freedom!"
Iran's protesters find inspiration in a Kurdish revolutionary slogan
Posted from npr.org
Iran
Kurds
Protest
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Kurds in Iran face discrimination and many live in poverty
Ignoring the slogan's political history contributes to the long-standing erasure of Kurdish people's identity and struggle, activists say.
That's also been the case in international coverage of Amini's death, they contend, in which Mahsa — Amini's Iranian state-sanctioned first name — is used. In interviews, Amini's parents have used both her Iranian and Kurdish names.
Like many Kurds in Iran, Amini was not allowed to legally register her Kurdish name, which means "life."
"I felt like she died twice because no one really was mentioning her Kurdish name or her Kurdish background, which is so relevant," says Beri Shalmashi, an Amsterdam-based Iranian Kurdish writer and filmmaker.
Besides facing ethnic discrimination, Kurds, who make up an estimated 15% of Iran's population, are marginalized as Sunni Muslims in a Shia-majority country. Their language is restricted and they account for nearly half of political prisoners in Iran. The country's Kurdish regions are also among its most impoverished.
The Iranian government has blamed Kurds for the current unrest in Iran, according to news reports, and has attacked predominantly Kurdish cities, like Sanandaj and Oshnavieh. Some Persian nationalists, meanwhile, continue to ignore the lived experiences of Kurds in the country.
Shalmashi believes it's vital to highlight Amini's Kurdish identity, and the Kurdish roots of "jin, jiyan, azadi," as a reminder of the need for greater rights for all people in today's Iran — no matter their ethnicity or gender. Without inclusion and unity, she warns, the current protests risk becoming meaningless.
"Because if you don't make room for people to be in this together," she says, "then what are you going to do if you even succeed?"
..."Kurds in Iran face discrimination and many live in poverty
Ignoring the slogan's political history contributes to the long-standing erasure of Kurdish people's identity and struggle, activists say.
That's also been the case in international coverage of Amini's death, they contend, in which Mahsa — Amini's Iranian state-sanctioned first name — is used. In interviews, Amini's parents have used both her Iranian and Kurdish names.
Like many Kurds in Iran, Amini was not allowed to legally register her Kurdish name, which means "life."
"I felt like she died twice because no one really was mentioning her Kurdish name or her Kurdish background, which is so relevant," says Beri Shalmashi, an Amsterdam-based Iranian Kurdish writer and filmmaker.
Besides facing ethnic discrimination, Kurds, who make up an estimated 15% of Iran's population, are marginalized as Sunni Muslims in a Shia-majority country. Their language is restricted and they account for nearly half of political prisoners in Iran. The country's Kurdish regions are also among its most impoverished.
The Iranian government has blamed Kurds for the current unrest in Iran, according to news reports, and has attacked predominantly Kurdish cities, like Sanandaj and Oshnavieh. Some Persian nationalists, meanwhile, continue to ignore the lived experiences of Kurds in the country.
Shalmashi believes it's vital to highlight Amini's Kurdish identity, and the Kurdish roots of "jin, jiyan, azadi," as a reminder of the need for greater rights for all people in today's Iran — no matter their ethnicity or gender. Without inclusion and unity, she warns, the current protests risk becoming meaningless.
"Because if you don't make room for people to be in this together," she says, "then what are you going to do if you even succeed?"
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