Iran lifts more than decade-long censorship on Kurdish novel

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iranian authorities have granted a license to publish a Kurdish novel that focuses on the role of the father figure in patriarchal society after it was partially censored for years.

 

The Fence and My Father's Dogs by renowned Kurdish author Sherzad Hassan was published in Kurdish in the early 1990s. 

It was then translated into Farsi.

“I translated the novel into Farsi in 1998. But the Iranian censorship body censored more than 15 pages and then gave permission for the novel to be printed. I didn’t accept this decision.” Mariwan Halabjayi, who is based in the capital Tehran, told Rudaw.

 

“I am however happy now that the novel has been licensed to be printed without censorship. It will be reprinted,” he added.

The novel centers on the father figure in a patriarchal society. A man married to several women controls every aspect of his sons and daughters lives. It begins with the eldest son talking about how he murdered his father, believing that after his death everything will be alright. 

“Sherzad Hassan is one of the rare Kurdish novelists. He is one of those writers who saved Kurdish literature from repetition and similarity. He is a writer who reinvigorated the Kurdish story,” Halabjayi said of the Kurdish author whose novel had has been published with partial censorship. 

Sherzad Hassan was born in 1952 in Erbil. He completed English language and literature in 1975 at Baghdad University. He has authored 10 books.