Women of Komala

Gender and Revolution in Iranian Kurdistan

Fatemeh Karimi, Katharine Hodgkin, Janet Biehl

• Publisher: Pluto Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9780745350820
• eBook ISBN: 9780745350837
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

“A remarkable story ... Fatemeh Karimi should be commended for her outstanding telling of it” Janet Afary, author of Sexual Politics in Modern Iran

“Reveals how Kurdish women’s military, intellectual, and everyday contributions in the post-revolutionary era challenged traditional hierarchies” Fataneh Farahani, Professor, Stockholm University

“Groundbreaking … Brilliantly intertwines gender, class, national, and political struggle in Kurdistan” Pedram Baldari, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan

Kurdistan has a storied and turbulent past, marked by a relentless struggle for self-determination and survival. Kurdish women have been at the forefront of this struggle: their lives are a testament to resilience in the face of relentless adversity, as they navigate the complexities of revolution and the quest for freedom and equality.

This groundbreaking book is the first comprehensive study of leftist women guerrillas in Iranian Kurdistan, predating the emergence of women fighters in Rojava by more than three decades. Focusing on Komala (1979–1991), a radical Kurdish-Iranian organization pioneering the inclusion of women as combatants, Women of Komala examines the lives and political participation of marginalized women.

Drawing on extensive interviews, the book analyses familial, social, and organizational obstacles; gendered organizational dynamics; patriarchy; the issue of children; and the sexual division of roles within families and the party. This rich account situates Komala within the political context of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and its aftermath, shedding light on the importance of critical reflection on gender relations during this pivotal period in the history of Kurdistan and Iran.

Fatemeh Karimi is an independent researcher, women’s rights activist, and member of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). She holds a PhD from the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part I. Kurdish women in revolution: the path to engagement
• Part II. Militant trajectories within komala from the revolution to 1981
• Part III. Patriarchy in the lives of the komala peshmerga, 1981–91
• Conclusion
• Appendices
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Index