Women key to achieving gender equality in Kurdistan

Outsiders perceive that Kurdish women are equal to men because they are often portrayed taking up arms. Unlike neighbouring nations, the Kurds accept that women can enlist as soldiers. But are women then considered equal in society?

 

While the Kurdistan Region parliament is 30 percent women, it is due to a mandated quota. Without this allocation, women would never achieve representation. The female gender is being used as a status symbol to simulate equality.

 

To achieve actual equality, women would need to play a role in the decision-making sphere, for example as CEOs and directors, or by being female ministers. Real social equality is achieved when men are no longer the only ones making decisions about the politics of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), but also are actively involved.

 

Brushing over that women face greater social pressures — such as having children and being largely responsible for childcare and running the household — should not be ignored. But these challenges can be overcome if support measures are implemented. Women need to be able to effectively combine work and family commitments. Of course, that’s easier said than done. To achieve this, there needs to be more nurseries and day care facilities — above all, women need their partner’s support.

 

We as Kurds need to set economic and social examples for the next generation. Until now, a woman’s image has been defined purely through superficial attributes, such as clothing or the social status of her parents or husband. How women are viewed needs to be driven externally as well as internally.

 

Random, scantily clad celebrities have nothing to do with equality. After all, it’s unlikely a man would garner more attention or respect if he were to wear shorts and leave the top three buttons of his shirt undone. Female perception should be influenced by different role models or examples.

 

Unfortunately, events like the “Kurdistan Fashion Week” or the beauty pageant “Miss Qamishlo” take place in entirely different contexts. Beauty ideals or clothing styles are predetermined. Many women and men subsequently pass judgment on them, indicating that Kurdish society is far from inclusive. This can hardly be classified as self-determination.

 

What’s more, as soon as these events fail to align with political ideology, they are met with morally righteous indignation. This clearly demonstrates that they are important and appropriate. Not every aspect in life should be politically determined.

 

Some Kurds have a tendency to present themselves as incredibly inclusive and open-minded but have no idea what that actually entails. They end up acting in a contradictory manner without even noticing or questioning it. Many Kurds also enjoy comparing themselves to neighbouring nations, as this shows them in a better light. Yet it never even crosses their minds to compare themselves with nations which have a better understanding of equality and a better approach to implementing it.

 

Emancipation in Kurdish society may not have progressed as quickly as, for example, digitization. But it is there, and it continues to spread. This is evidenced by birth rates. Ever since women have had access to education, birth rates have dropped significantly in the Kurdistan Region. At first glance, that might appear unfavourable, but it’s important to recognise that this trend is linked to equal opportunities. Globally, women have made progress and are becoming more and more independent.

 

Women should determine what they want to achieve and not have others dictate what’s perceivably best for them. There are many intelligent women in our society who can do more than simply take up arms. The solution for achieving equality and progress in Kurdish society lies with Kurdish women.

 

Salahdin Koban is a member of Germany's CDU Party. He was the first German-Kurd to run as a candidate in a German Federal Election, 2017. He is member of the German Israeli Group and Republicans Overseas in Germany. His main field is foreign policy.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.