Kurdish women’s roles and position in their works including orientalists and memories written by travellers who journeyed through Kurdistan

Abstract

Women, who represent a significant element in the society, have been given a prominent position in world dictionaries and scholarly books and their influential roles in different walks of life are recognized. Kurdish women, like their international counterparts, have played important parts in the changes their societies have undergone. This is why this topic has attracted the attention of many travelers and orientalists who have visited Kurdistan in the past and which they have recorded as a bright point of strength in the Kurdish society. They have also referred to it as a point that differentiated Kurds from their neighboring peoples of the Middle East. Thus, in their memoires, many Kurdologists have dealt with Kurdish women’s heroism and the freedom they enjoyed compared to other women of other eastern societies. They have also explored the skillfulness, dexterity and studiousness of the Kurdish women at home while at the same time working alongside men outside home to increase income and productivity for the family. However, the orientalists have not always praised the Kurdish women. Rather, sometimes they have levies some criticism against them but with a constructive perspective mostly due to the relative openness of the Kurdish society which impressed them considerably. Hence, the present research is an attempt to demonstrate the Kurdologists’ perspectives and standpoints towards Kurdish women’s roles and position in theirworks including orientalists and memoires written by travelers who journeyed through Kurdistan.