Blogs

Crisis in Kurdistan

After World War One, the Kurds were promised a Kurdish state in 1920 in the Treaty of Sevres. Unfortunately, the Treaty was never put to action, hence, the Kurds were divided into five countries namely: south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia. Iraq's Kurds have a long-held dream of statehood. They were brutally oppressed under dictator Saddam Hussein, whose military in the 1980s killed at least 50,000 of them, many with chemical weapons. Kurds make up an estimated 15% to 20% of Iraq's population. The Kurdish Referendum on 25th September, 2017, called for independence of Iraqi Kurdistan (receiving approximately 93% vote for independence).

Gender Equality in Afghanistan

The fifth Sustainable Development Goal also known as Gender Equality focuses on eliminating violence and discrimination against women, providing education to women, providing healthcare to women and their children and providing more representation for women in politics. Even after so many advances in technology and sciences, the basic rights of women are still violated. For example, In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive; they have to depend on their fathers and husbands for mobility (Al Jazeera). Many countries in South Asia force marry girls at young ages. Many Middle eastern countries believe that men are superior to women (Al Jazeera). Some countries did not allow women to serve in the army (“Ten examples of gender inequality in the world” Borgen Magazine).