Kurds in Sweden

Kurds in Sweden may refer to people born in or residing in the Sweden of Kurdish origin.

Most Kurdish people in Sweden live in the capital Stockholm or in Uppsala.^[1] A majority of Kurdish political refugees choose Sweden as their host country and therefore they have a cultural presence in Sweden.^[2] As of 2016, 5 MPs in the Swedish parliament is of Kurdish descent.

Chronological Kurdish arrivals to Sweden

• 1967-1970 Two Kurdish students from south Kurdistan were expelled and fled to Sweden where they continued their studies.
• 1971-1975 A military coup in Turkey and the peace agreement in Iraq was established. Many Kurds left those countries and went to Uppsala.
• 1975 Huddinge becomes the first municipality offering Kurdish as a primary language.^[3]
• 1976-1980 Kurds lest different parts of Kurdistan for Sweden due of the military coup in Turkey, the mass killings in the Maraş Massacre, the war against Saddam Hussein in Iraqi Kurdistan, the revolt against the Shah in Iran, and the ill-treatment of the Kurdish population in Syria by the Baath-regime .
• 1984 The education of Kurdish teachers in Stockholm begins.^[4]
• 1981-1985 During the military junta in Turkey, the Kurdish opposition fled to Syria and Iraq. The war between Iran-Iraq and the subjugation of Kurds in both of the countries intensified.
• 1986-1990 The Turkish regime's mistreatment of the Kurdish population fuels immigration to Sweden.^[5]
• 1991-1995 The crises in Kuwait due to Iraqi invasion, the war in south Kurdistan, and mass exodus from north Kurdistan into Iran.

Integration issues

The 26-year-old Kurdish woman Fadime Şahindal was murders by her father in an honour killing in 2002.^{[6][7] [8]} Kurdish organizations were criticized by prime minister Göran Persson for not doing enough to prevent honour killings.^[9] Pela Atroshi was a Kurdish girl who was shot by her uncle in a brutal honour killing.^[10] The murder of Pela and Fadime gave rise to the formation of the human rights organization GAPF - Never Forget Pela and Fadime. GAPF (the acronym stands for Never Forget Pela and Fadime) is a politically and religiously independent and secular nonprofit organization working against honor-related violence and oppression. The organization's name is taken from Pela Atroshi and Fadime Sahindal which is Sweden's best-known and high-profile cases of honor killings.^[11][12] The honor killing of Sara, an Iraqi Kurdish girl, was the first publicized honor killing in Sweden.^[13][14][15] These three prominent cases of Sara, Pela and Fadime, brought the notion of honour killings into Swedish discourse.^[16]

Notable Kurds in Sweden

• Sirwan Kakai
• Amineh Kakabaveh
• Bovar Karim
• Darin
• Dilba Demirbag
• Dilnarin Demirbag
• Dilsa Demirbag Sten
• Gulan Avci
• Jiloan Hamad
• Mervan Celik
• Mustafa Can
• Nalin Pekgul
• Özz Nûjen
• Rawez Lawan
• Reşo Zîlan
• Tino Sanandaji
• Nisti Stêrk
• Sakine Madon

References

• Eldén, Åsa (2004): Life-and-Death Honour: Young Women’s Violent Stories About Reputation, Virginity and Honour – in a Swedish Context. In: Mojab, Sharzad/Abdo, Nahla (Hg.): Violence in the Name of Honour. Istanbul: Istanbul Bilgi University Press: 91-100
• Rizvi, Javeria (2004): Violence in the Name of Honour in Swedish Society: What Lessons can be learnt from the Swedish Experience. In: Mojab, Shahrzad/Abdo, Nahla (Hg.): Violence in the Name of Honour. Istanbul: Istanbul Bilgi University Press: 211-223
• Wikan, Unni (2008): In Honor of Fadime: Murder and Shame. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• Wikan, Unni (2004) Deadly Distrust: Honor Killings and Swedish Multiculturalism. In: Hardin, Russell (Hg.): Distrust. New York: Russell Sage Foundation: 192-204

External links

• "SKVF - Svensk Kurdiska Vänskaps föreningen" (Swedish Kurdish Friendship Association)

References

Immigration to Sweden
Europe	Albanians Croats Finns Greeks Italians Macedonians Poles Russians Serbs Spaniards
South America	Chileans Uruguayans
Asia	Arabs Iraqis Lebanese Syrians Armenians Assyrians Chinese Indians Iranians Kurds Yazidis Turks Pakistanis
Africa	Arabs Moroccans Cape Verdeans Somalis
See also	Demographics of Sweden

Kurdish diaspora and regions
Traditional Kurdish areas	Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Iraq Iran Syria Turkey
Asia	Israel Kurdish Jews Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Lebanon Pakistan Turkmenistan
Europe	Finland France Germany Netherlands Russia Sweden United Kingdom
North America	Canada United States
Oceania	Australia New Zealand