Part of the sorrows and suffering of Kurdish girls (1941)

The sorrow and suffering of Kurdish girls
cannot be told in a hundred stories

From the ranks of humanity, they have been driven away
lower than animals, weak and incurable

Until the age of fifteen, just like a servant 
They are forced to toil on the plains and the outdoors

Then when it is time for the demands of marriage
Quickly she is betrothed according to the terms of Sharia

Either she is conquered in exchange for much property 
Or she is captured, exchanged, woman for woman

she is given away to a filthy or old man
without opportunity, she is forced and hastily given away

her nineteenth century is pitiful 
Though in Sharia law she is said to be free

Those who so disobey 
in heart's sorrow they become mad and filled with fury

As long as they are girls, they are flawless and blameless
When married, they become subhuman

For every girl who suffers wrongdoing 
Let the responsibility lie with father and brother

Whoever marries her, again
persecutes her until the day of judgement

- Mufti Penjweni

Sweet memories (1974)

The happy day of Kurdish youth is still hidden by a heavy black cloud
until the face of the city´s daughter is hidden from the eyes

Your veil does not let your beautiful eyebrows be seen 
Alas for the filthy cloud, preventing a gaze at the moon

How can a people be free, when its girl is shackled
Is that not enough of slavery-girls and shackled to their

Your father has closed the door for you, but has no door himself
To close the door for you, is to close the door of hope

Scandalous, it's death, how will they tell you
"You may not go out”, where is the right to life? Woman

Remove your black veil, let your shining cheek be seen
For in this, the 20th century, this veiling is filled with shame

Other people's girls build atomic bombs, but you 
Only know the words like (barbecue tongs), (potholder) and
(breadboard).

Thanks to her education, she learnt science and art
You (knit yarn) for us, such sweet memories

She flew across the sky, travelled the world, dived under the sea
My grief, and your only chore is to sit inside

Boy is successful, learning, working, making art
But your art is knitting socks, I rejoice for you

your grandmother never saw the veil, the shawl and the shroud
Those meaningless rags are the enemy's gift

Let us have a thousand clear sea like (Ze), (Gader), (Lawen) 
Until the woman is free, for the fountain of life is muddy

Slavery is not common anymore, beloved Kurdish girl
Go to battle, wake up, now is not a time for sleeping

Smash the door, tear the veil, run to school
The cure for Kurdish pain is education, only education

It is the educated mother who sends a strong son to the fight
I said it, you must understand: (the water never reaches the sea)

Your gold earrings are of no use, hear my words
Worthy of your ears, my love, is (Hemn's) simple poem

--- Hemin Mukriani

Picture - Kurdish Poem

Four children

a Turk, a Persian

an Arab and a Kurd were collectively drawing the picture of a man.

The first drew his head

The second drew his hands and upper limbs

The third drew his legs and torso

The fourth drew a gun on his shoulder

--- Sherko Bekas [1979]

I am Kurdish ( أنا كردي )

I challenge poverty, privation, pain. 

I resist times of oppression with strength.
I have courage.
I do not love angel eyes, skin white as marble.
I love the rocks, the hills, the peaks lost among the clouds.
I challenge misfortune, misery, solitude 

And I shall never be a slave of the enemy, never grant him treaty!

I challenge batons, chains, torture. 

And even if my body lies torn in pieces,
With all my strength 

I shall scream: I am Kurdish.

--- Hemin Mukriyani

Kurds are an ethnic group indigenous to a region called Kurdistan spanning parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. They have long sought the creation of an independent Kurdish nation due to historic repression and the denial of autonomy. Despite partial autonomy in Iraq and Syria, the demand for a separate nation remains unresolved, with Kurdish nationalism still actively suppressed in several countries

BORDERS

Adored land, my country,

a love that I had lost..

if you had been remote 

in an inaccessible sky

or at a summit of the world

I would have known 

how to run to you 

even with iron shoes.

But a narrow distance 

separates you from me..

The invader calls it a border.

--- Hemin Mukriyani

Kurds are an ethnic group indigenous to a region called Kurdistan spanning parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. They have long sought the creation of an independent Kurdish nation due to historic repression and the denial of autonom. Despite partial autonomy in Iraq and Syria, the demand for a separate nation remains unresolved, with Kurdish nationalism still actively suppressed in several countries.