Lecture on the Kurds and Three Influential Women

Introduction

• The Kurds are a 35 million strong people group without a homeland.
• Likely to be the world’s next new nation.
• Known for beautiful children, yogurt (Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya), and female Peshmerga fighters.
• Aim for an independent Kurdistan between Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria.

Women in Kurdish Society

• Though 97% Muslim, women are prominent: on Supreme Court, command troops, and are diplomats.

Gertrude Bell

• British woman, mother of modern Iraq.
• Born 1868, educated at Oxford, mastered six languages.
• Mountaineer, loved Arab world, led soldiers across deserts during WWI.
• Friends with Winston Churchill and T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia).
• Helped configure the Middle East post-WWI but overlooked Kurds.
• Iraq formed as a buffer state against Turkey, using Kurds.
• Promises of a Kurdish homeland were not fulfilled.

Nishtiman

• Born in 1980 in Kurdish Iraq.
• Suffered under Saddam Hussein who used chemical weapons on Kurds in 1988.
• Survived Halabja gas attack, lost her father, captured and lost her mother.
• Now a feared Peshmerga fighter against ISIS, popular on social media.

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman

• Daughter of Sami Abdul Rahman, resistance leader against Saddam.
• Lived rugged life in mountains and was later educated in England.
• Journalist for Financial Times in Japan.
• Now the representative of the Kurdish regional government to Washington DC.
• Influential in advocating for Kurdish independence and against ISIS.

Conclusion

• 35 million Kurds await recognition as a free nation.
• Encouragement for involvement and support of their cause.

• The lecture highlights the plight and resilience of the Kurdish people.
• Three women's stories illustrate the influence and struggle for Kurdish independence.
• The historical context and current political efforts are significant for global awareness.