en fuego

photo: leyla qasim, a kurdish activist

“kill me! but you must also know that after my death thousands of kurds will wake up from their deep sleep. i am happy that i will die with pride and for an independent kurdistan!”

biography

leyla qasim (1952-1974) was a kurdish activist who was against the ba'ath regime. she was born in xanaqîn before her family relocated to hewler, southern kurdistan. leyla and her family lived in extreme poverty, often relying on rations for food and clothing.

activism

in 1968, leyla became disturbed after witnessing the overthrow of abdul rahman arif, then president of iraq, by the ba'ath party leader, ahmed hassan al-bakr, and the violent takeover of the capital.

during the late 1960s, leyla and her brother çiyako wrote pamphlets describing the horrors of the ba'ath party and it’s new leader, saddam hussein, as well as how the ba'ath party was against kurdish independence. soon after, leyla joined the kurdistan student union and the kurdistan democratic party

arrest and death

in 1974, leyla was arrested and tortured. on may 12, 1974, after being accused of trying to assassinate saddam hussein and a lengthy trial, leyla was hanged, which was broadcast across iraq.

she is known as a national martyr among kurds.

Salaam Cinema (1995)

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, 1988 by Photox0906 on Flickr.