Leyla Qasim
Statue of Leyla Qasim in Downtown Erbil
Born1952
Khanaqin, Kingdom of Iraq
Died12 May 1974 (aged 21/22)
Baghdad, Ba'athist Iraq
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
NationalityKurdish
Known forPro-Kurdish political activism, execution by Iraqi Ba'ath party

Leyla Qasim (Kurdish: Leyla Qasim ,لەیلا قاسم; 1952 – 12 May 1974) was a Feyli Kurdish activist against the Iraqi Ba'ath regime who was executed in Baghdad. She is known as a national martyr among the Kurds.

Birth and childhood

She was the third out of five children born to a Kurdish farmer, Dalaho Qasim, and his wife Kanî. She was born in Xaneqîn but was relocated to Erbil when she was four years old.

Education

Leyla and her brother Çiyako were taught Arabic and agriculture by their mother when they were aged six and eight. In 1958 she entered elementary and later finished secondary school in Khanaqin. In 1971 she moved to Baghdad to study sociology at the University of Baghdad.[1]

Political activism

Leyla Qasim was sixteen years old as Abdul Rahman Arif was overthrown by Ba'ath party leader, General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr in 1968.[2] Leyla was disturbed by the violent takeover in the capital. During the late 1960s, Leyla and Çiyako wrote pamphlets on the horrors of the Ba'ath party including the new leader, Saddam Hussein, whom they described as being against Kurdish independence.

Leyla spoke to several Kurds in the Kurdistan Region about the Ba'ath regime and the loose morals of the members. Leyla was told that her words were inspiring sedition.

In 1970 she joined the Kurdistan Students Union and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.[1]

On 28 April 1974 she was detained together with four others and accused of attempting to hijack a plane.[3] She was arrested, tortured and, in Baghdad on 12 May 1974, ultimately hanged after a show trial, broadcast throughout Iraq.[4] She was accused of having planned to kill Saddam Hussein.[5] She was the first woman to be hanged by the Iraqi Ba'ath party.[6][7] Executed along with Qasim were also Jawad Hamawandi, Nariman Fuad Masti, Hassan Hama Rashid and Azad Sleman Miran.[8]

Remembrance

Many Kurdish families named their children Leyla after her. Every year the anniversary of her death is remembered by many Kurds.[1] In Kelar there exists a Leyla Qasim Park and a statue of her in Xaneqîn.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Leyla Qasim: Bride of Kurdistan". Peace and Collaborative Development Network. 2011-05-21. Archived from the original on 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  2. ↑ Reuters (1982-10-05). "Ahmed al-Bakr Dies; Former Iraqi President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  3. ↑ "Leyla Qasim: symbol of freedom, and Independence". The Kurdistan Tribune. 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  4. ↑ What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq by Nadje al Ali and Nicola Pratt. Berkeley: University of California Press. 2009
  5. ↑ Bengio, Ofra (2016). "Game Changers: Kurdish Women in Peace and War". Middle East Journal. 70 (1): 41. doi:10.3751/70.1.12. ISSN 0026-3141. JSTOR 43698618.
  6. ↑ Dirik, Dilar (2016-09-06). "Kurdish women's radical struggle for liberation ― more than a media sideshow". Green Left. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  7. ↑ Service, Indo-Asian News (2014-10-31). "Kurdish women fighters, an unprecedented example of equality in Middle East". India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  8. ↑ "In memory of the execution Leyla Qasim and her comrades — Rojhelat.info". 15 May 2011. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  9. ↑ "Parties in South Kurdistan react to US decision". ANF News. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.