This Tuesday marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of the heroine Leyla Qasim and her comrades. The immortal Kurdish heroine was born in the city of Khanaqin on December 27, 1952, to a Kurdish family; her father was a worker at the Khanaqin oil refinery.
She began her education in 1958, enrolling in a primary school in Khanaqin. She continued her studies in her birthplace until completing middle school. Following her father’s retirement, the family decided to move to Baghdad. Despite the poverty the family endured, they placed great importance on their children’s education, who in turn were diligent and excelled in their studies.
Qasim merged the struggle for Kurdish rights with the struggle for women’s rights. She believed that women could be equals and partners to men, particularly in the fields of struggle, and she was one of the most active figures in student movements. She began her university studies in 1971 at the University of Baghdad, Faculty of Arts, in the Department of Sociology.
Alongside a group of friends, she commenced heroic activities against the former regime. Unfortunately, they were captured early on. On April 29, 1974, she, her fiancé, and their comrades were arrested and paraded on television screens. She remained steadfast in her position, yet she and her comrades were sentenced in a show trial where the verdict—death—had been predetermined. Nevertheless, she famously stated: “I feel happy because my death will awaken thousands to follow the same path, and our people will attain their freedom.” She and her comrades ascended the gallows on May 12, 1974, less than two weeks after their arrest, thereby becoming a symbol and a legend.
Leyla Qasim is considered the first female martyr in the Middle East to be executed by hanging. This crime against a Kurdish girl will never be forgotten in human history. The execution of Qasim and her comrades remains a stain on the forehead of fascist regimes that killed over 200,000 Kurds whose only “crime” was demanding the right to live with dignity.
Distinguished by her sharp intelligence, keen awareness, and sense of patriotism, she became a source of pride for every woman seeking to live freely and rejecting humiliation. She was deeply engaged in political, social, and cultural spheres.
Her martyrdom became an exemplary symbol and a legend immortalized by history, serving as inspiration for intellectuals, thinkers, academics, poets, writers, and artists. In the year of her execution, the name “Leyla” was given to most newborn girls across Kurdistan in her honor.
The activist Leyla Qasim always told her comrades and colleagues: “Kurdish heroes must continue the arduous journey of struggle so that life may be rectified for them alongside martyrdom.”
Source: PUKMEDIA
Note: This text is translated from the original Arabic version… Read the Arabic version: Click here
