ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the gender dimension of diaspora/homeland relations in the newly formed Kurdish communities in Europe. Focusing on activism for Kurdish women’s rights in both diaspora and homeland (especially Iraqi Kurdistan), the chapter examines the close ties that bind homeland/hostland relations, and reflects on current theoretical claims about ‘Islamic society’ and related concepts such as ‘Islamic diasporas’. It also critically assesses theorizations of ‘diaspora’ and ‘transnationality’, which reduce diasporic entities to cultural phenomena. This study is based on fieldwork in Europe and an analysis of the Charter for the Rights and Freedoms of Women in the Kurdish Regions and Diaspora, released in June 2004.
