Edited by Shahrzad Mojab.
Description
This book is the first scholarly work on feminism and nationalism in the context of one of the most persistent nationalist movements of the twentieth century-Kurdish nationalism. While a considerable volume of the literature on the Kurds deals with their nationalism، the place of women in this nationalist movement has rarely been studied. The relationship between nationalism and feminism is quite complex and conflictual. While some progress has recently been made in theorizing the relationships، there is a dearth of empirical studies of the topic. The contributors to this book examine aspects of Kurdish women's lives in light of current theoretical debates. For the first time، the contributors apply gender critique to the understanding of the nationalism of the world's largest non-state nation، the Kurds.
The book introduces a gender dimension into the growing literature on Kurdish nationalism. The diversity of Kurdish women's lives and experiences، from their membership in the parliament to military activism to mothering is documented. At the same time، it provides extensive evidence and analysis، which questions the widely accepted claim that Kurdish women enjoy more freedom compared with their Arab، Turkish and Persian sisters. Many of the topics in the book have never been addressed in Kurdish studies، for instance، gender and self-determination، women and Sufism، feminism and nationalism، and women and health choices. The editor's introductory chapter is the first survey of Kurdish women's studies، and provides a critical overview of the state of research، and examines theoretical and methodological issues as well as the politics and political economy of research on the women of a non-state nation.
Table of Contents
Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: The solitude of the stateless-Kurdish women at
the margins of feminist knowledge
Shahrzad Mojab 1
PART I: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
1. En-Gendering Nationalism: The 'Women Question' in
Kurdish Nationalism Discourse of the Late Ottoman Period
Janet Klein 25
2. Kurdish Women in Constantinople at the Beginning of the
Twentieth Century
Rohat Alakom 53
3. Women and Nationalism in the Kurdish Republic of 1946
Shahrzad Mojab 71
PART II: POLITICAL AND LEGAL PERSPECTIVES
4. From Adela Khanum to Leyla Zana: Women as Political
Leaders in Kurdish History
Martin van Bruinessen 95
5. Kurdish Migrant Women in Istanbul: Community and Resources
for Local Political Participation of a Marginalized
Social Group
Heidi Wedel 113
6. Kurdish Women and Self-Determination: A Feminist
Approach to International Law
Susan McDonald 135
PART III: SOCIAL، CULTURAL، AND LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVES
7. Medic، Mystic or Magic? Women's Health Choices in a Kurdish
City
Maria O'Shea 161
8.Folklore and Fantasy: The Presentation of Women in Kurdish
Oral Tradition
Christine Allison 181
9. Portraits of Kurdish Women in Contemporary Sufism
Annabelle Böttcher 195
10. Western Images of the Woman's Role in Kurdish Society
Mirella Galletti 209
11. The (re)production of patriarchy in the Kurdish language
Amir Hassanpour 227