Zhinan: The Architects of the New Iraq
I saw this great little video on GritTV today. When I visited Kurdistan, I saw that the women were strong and independent. Banaz, the female half of the couple who hosted me there, was a business woman who handled most of the business end of the schools. She received an award as Business Woman of the Year in Suleimaniya during the year before I met her.
This film tells a little of the tragic past and something about their way into the future. In Iran as well, Architecture is a popular career for women.
Some background: In the late 80s, and especially, 1988, Saddam Hussein accelerated what was already an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kurds to Genocide. The Barzanis were specifically targeted because Mustafa Barzani was a significant leader in the Kurdish struggle for independence. He was, and is, a great hero to most Kurds in Iraq, and some in Iran. His son, Masoud Barzani, is now President of the Kurdistan Region Government of Iraq.