"Floating" Documentation International Kurdish Women's Studies Network, Toronto, Canada By Robertine Romeny ©

"The collection has not yet been centralized", answers contact person Shahrzad Mojab one of my questions dryly. The International Kurdish Women's Studies Network is "floating" in the same way that the Kurds themselves are floating; most of them living in the Middle East, partly in diaspora and now scattered from Australia to Canada. The network operates virtually from the University of Toronto in Canada, but has no physical space, no money and no paid employees. A central point for documentation on Kurdish women exists thanks to internet and e-mail. How does this newly found documentation centre function?

Background

The International Kurdish Women's Studies Network was formed in Europe in the autumn of 1996 by Kurdish and non-Kurdish women activists and researchers. It was started in response to a growing need for a central point for Kurdish women in international debates on women's rights and women's studies. It provides a forum for the exchange of experience and knowledge amongst all those with an interest in improving the lives of Kurdish women. In doing so, it links up community-based, institution-based, academic and independent researchers and activists in all parts of Kurdistan and in the diaspora. It also aims to provide assistance to those engaged in Kurdish women's studies and activism everywhere, and to promote feminist theories and practice, women's rights and gender equality in Kurdistan and the diaspora. Due to the enormity of the problems faced by Kurdish women and their organizations both in the Middle-East and in the diaspora, the network deals with a wide range of issues. Issues related to the specific situation of women in surrounding nation-states include forced migration, nationalism, gender and ethnicity, war, life in the diaspora, violence, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and health. Academic issues address the question of introducing gender studies as an integral part of Kurdish studies or influencing the diversification of women's studies in the Western academy by incorporating the experience of Kurdish women. The network is temporarily housed at the University of Toronto, which gives it access to some of the privileges of institutional support. Another one of its goals is to obtain institutional support from Europe, where the majority of Kurdish refugees reside.

Political and economic situation

With the formation of nation-states in the wake of World War I, Kurdistan, the land of Kurdish people, was divided between the four major nation-states of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. By the mid twenties, Turkey and Iran, where most of the Kurds lived, had implemented a policy of linguistic and cultural genocide. At the same time, the Kurds in Iraq (under British rule 1918-1932) and Syria (under French rule 1918-1946), were struggling for autonomous rule. The century long struggle of the Kurdish people for sovereignty and self-determination gained some international attention after the mass exodus of the Kurds in Iraq in the aftermath of the US-led Gulf War in 1991. Since then, international human rights organizations have reported unceasing internal and external conflicts leading to massive dislocation of the Kurds. The genocidal policies of Iraq and even Turkey have contributed to the ongoing migration of this population, now scattered from Australia to Canada. Turkish human rights organizations estimate that nearly 3,000 villages have been forcibly evacuated and many torched since the beginning of the 1990s. There are about 25 to 30 million Kurds living in the Middle East, and about 1,5 to 2 million left the region due to the war.

Position of Kurdish women

The first Kurdish women's organization "Society for the Advancement of Kurdish Women" was founded in 1919 in Istanbul by members of the Kurdish aristocracy in exile. The organization aimed at "enlightening Kurdish women by modern thinking and promoting fundamental social reforms in the family", and to help Kurdish orphans and widows who had become victims of forced migrations and massacres. Throughout most of the latter half of this century, Kurdish women have not been free to form their own organizations in any Middle Eastern country, although they have been able to join officially sanctioned women's groups. The nationalist Kurdish political parties pursuing autonomy or independence have frequently been involved in guerrilla wars against the state; women have been expected to support the military and political work of these parties, but have not been recruited as active members. The nationalist parties have relegated women's emancipation and class struggle to the future, after the Kurdish people have achieved autonomy or sovereignty. Many women have willingly accepted the nationalist agenda. One factor has been the brutality of national oppression which rallied every one to the nationalist cause. The other was the general absence or weakness of feminist consciousness. Kurdish women today face a host of obstacles, including the retrogressive nationalist parties, pressure from Islamic groups, central governments and a largely disintegrated economy and society. The few Islamic groups in Iraqi Kurdistan, for instance, have imposed the veil on women in the areas bordering Iran, and engaged in numerous killings of women who had been raped and sexually assaulted by the Iraqi army and security forces before the Gulf War. Whilst the oppression of the Kurdish people now draws many women to political and military activism, a growing tension between feminist awareness and patriarchal relations of domination is visible. Today in Turkey, there is a wide range of Kurdish women's organizations active in the social, economic, and cultural arenas. Since 1996, two Kurdish feminist journals, Roza and Jujîn, have been published.

"Collection"

One of the first tasks of the new network is to localizing and map the whereabouts of books and documentation material. 'We are still a 'floating' network', says Shahrzad Mojab. 'The limited material available on Kurdish women is scattered throughout public or private libraries. As far as we know there is no one collection on Kurdish women. We have undertaken a project titled "Women of Kurdistan: A Bibliographic Survey", which is multi-lingual and multi-regional. We hope that this project will contribute to building a consolidated and accessible collection. This collection will cater to both the needs of women in Kurdish communities and women in other communities, with an emphasis on Kurdish women in large immigrant and refugee communities dispersed throughout Europe and North America. Furthermore, one of our long-term projects/dreams is establishing a Kurdish women's library and archive'.
The bibliography is a subject bibliography. The indexing will be gender sensitive and exhaustive, with adequate cross-referencing. Tentative headings include the usual feminist subjects such as health, family issues, gender issues, history and biographies and subjects related to the complex and diverse situation of the Kurds with their wealth of ethnic groups, religion and folklore.
'We are in the process of producing the first book on Kurdish women!' Shahrzad announces proudly. 'This is an edited collection of articles on Kurdish women titled "Women of A Stateless Nation: The Kurds" which will be published soon. We distribute a News Update and are creating a web site where the News Update will be one of the features'.

Vision and co-operation

So far, Kurdish nationalism has acted as an obstacle to gender equality, and at times has become another source of oppression for women. Shahrzad emphasizes that the network is a secular, anti-racist, anti-imperialist and feminist organization. "It is from these perspectives that we study, analyze, and formulate strategies on gender equality in Kurdistan and in the diaspora. We argue that gender justice must be at the heart of Kurdish national projects and processes. It seems that one of our challenges is our ability to avoid elitism and to manage to integrate theory and practice".
Amongst the network members are representatives of Kurdish women's organizations. One of the network's goals is to conduct research with the collaboration of and in consultation with the women's organizations in the region and in the diaspora. An example of this is the planned literacy project which will focus on peace, human rights, and civic education for Kurdish women. Through a 'Train Trainees' programme, the network aims to involve and work closely with Kurdish women's organizations in Turkey.
The network has been instrumental in campaigning in the defence of human rights and for Kurdish women activists who have become victims of state persecution.
"As a newly established network, we are gradually gaining recognition within the Kurdish community", says Shahrzad Mojab. "The response so far has been positive and encouraging."
In recent years, several Kurdish libraries and centres have been established, mainly in Europe, and the network is in the process of strengthening its links with these centres. It is also in the process of finding a suitable home for the archives and bibliographical material on Kurdish women. The Kurdiska Biblioteket in Sweden has recently suggested that their library would be the best location for the collection on Kurdish women. To make people aware of the network, a flyer has been produced outlining its goal, objectives, and activities. Besides this, articles on the network and women's issues have been written for Kurdish journals, a web site has been created and representatives have been present at various conferences on the Kurds during the last two years.

Target groups and visitors

The network is an international body with individual and organizational membership from Europe, North America, and the Middle East. It aims to reach out to activists and researchers in the region and in the diaspora. Although women are the primary target group, the network also aspires to reach out to children, especially girls, and young people of both sexes.
In the absence of a permanent physical space there have been no visitors as yet, but researchers and organizations from various countries in North America and Europe have contacted the network requesting information on research resources and contacts with women in Kurdistan. The Kurdish and Iranian media in the diaspora have also asked for interviews as well as written contributions to their publications.

Funding and personnel

There is no budget for buying books, in spite of requests made to private funding agencies. The network now plans to ask publishers and Kurdish organizations to contribute to its collection via donations. The network has no permanent staff. All the work is volunteer based with little or no continuity.

Specific problems with operating in the Kurdish diaspora

The Kurdish community in the diaspora remains traditional and patriarchal, and this inevitably hinders the network's progress.
"Language is a major problem. Although English is the network's formal written language, we always try to provide translations at meetings. Due to limited financial and human resources, we have not been able to address the multi-lingual nature of its membership," explains Mojab. "A nation so dispersed, both within the region and in the diaspora, with no or limited access to education in the native tongue, inevitably loses the ability to communicate meaningfully. This problem is exacerbated by the regional diversity. Despite the enormous similarities in tradition, political culture, and the level of socio-economic developments among the four dominant nation-states (Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria), there are regional differences among the Kurds." "In spite of these obstacles," concludes Shahrzad Mojab, "we are strengthened by the realisation of what we can achieve by networking, addressing a need and aspiring to remain an inclusive feminist organization which transcends the boundaries of class, language and regional diversity".

International Kurdish Women's Studies Network
Contact person: Dr. Shahrzad Mojab,
Department of Adult Education OISE-University of Toronto
Address: 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6
Telephone: # (416) 923-6641, Ext. 2242
Fax: # (416) 926-4749
E-mail: smojab@oise.utoronto.ca
Web site: http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/projects/kwnet

For questions or more information please contact: mapping@iiav.nl
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