Hapsa Khan

Hapsa Khan
Born1891
Sulaymaniyah
Died12 April 1953
NationalityKurdish
Occupation(s)Teacher, activist
Known forFounded the first women's school in Iraq

Hapsa Khan (Kurdish: حەپسەخان, romanized: Hepise Xan) was an early Kurdish feminist[1][2] and nationalist leader who founded the first women's school in Iraq.[3] The organisation was called the Kurdish Women's Association.[4]

She was born in 1891 in Sulaymaniyah to a prominent Kurdish family. She was the daughter of Sheikh Marif and Salma Khan. In 1926 she played a significant role in the foundation of the first school for girls in Sulaymaniyah/Silêmanî "by going from house to house with the teachers to register as many girls as possible, and to even convince parents to send their daughters to school".[5] The German photographer Lotte Errell described Hapsa Khan as a woman “whose husband gets up when she enters the room”.[5]

In 1920, Hapsa Khan married the Kurdish leader Sheikh Qadir Hafid,[6][4] brother of Mahmud Barzanji, who played a leading role in the Kurdish resistance to British occupation.[3] She played a role in the revolt by financing it, convincing others to join it and organising protests in Sulaymaniyah.[5]

In 1930, Hapsa Khan sent a letter to the League of Nations, advocating for Kurdish rights and a Kurdish state. When Qazi Muhammad founded the Republic of Mahabad in 1946, she supported the decision to declare independence.[5]

After her death in 1953, her home became a school.[5] Hapsa Khan continues to be a strong influence on modern Kurdish women. In February 2019, Kurdistan24 reported that the winner of a fashion contest in Sulaymaniyah based her design for a traditional costume on Hapsa Khan's style.[7]

  1. ^ "Hero Ibrahim Ahmad: The original female Peshmerga". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  2. ^ "Revenge of the Feminerd: More Feminerd Forerunners". Bitch Media. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  3. ^ a b "Hapsa Khan". kurdistanwomen.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  4. ^ a b "Hapsa Khani Naqib: Kurdish Hero". julesjotting.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  5. ^ a b c d e Karim, Lawen (2015-02-19). "Hepse Xanî Neqîb (1891-1953)". Medya Magazine. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  6. ^ Kurdistan24. "Part 1: From self-reign to self-immolation: Kurdish women's past and present". Kurdistan24. Retrieved 2017-09-06.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Kurdistan24. "Glitter and Glamour: Sulaimani holds Kurdish fashion design contest". Kurdistan24. Retrieved 2019-03-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)