ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Thousands of Kurds gathered in Mahabad’s Koza Kareza district on Monday, dressed in traditional Kurdish attire, to celebrate the Kurdish New Year, Newroz. While the holiday is still three days away, festivities in Iran's western Kurdish areas (Rojhelat) began weeks prior.
Newroz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated with great enthusiasm by Kurds in Rojhelat who come together in large crowds sporting the Kurdish attire, particularly the Jamaneh and Khaki clothes.
Jamaneh and Khaki are traditional Kurdish outfits that have often been worn by Kurdish groups opposing the Iranian establishment. Considered as a symbol of resistance, many Kurds share images of themselves wearing the traditional clothes on social media as an act of dissent.
“Dozens of people from all parts of [Greater] Kurdistan have joined our beautiful celebrations, which we have inherited from our ancestors. Hopefully, we will be able to preserve this tradition by celebrating it every year, taking pride in our nationality," Mohammad Ebrahimnezhad, a Mahabad citizen, told Rudaw.
Kurds believe that Greater Kurdistan refers to the historic region traditionally inhabited by the Kurdish people and spanning parts of four countries: Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria.
“My wish is for the honorable Kurdish nation to have a year full of joy and happiness,” Karwan Osmani, another Mahabad citizen, said.
Mahabad holds immense historical significance for the Kurdish people as a symbol of Kurdish nationalism. It gained prominence as the site where the first independent, yet short-lived, Kurdish state was established by Qazi Muhammad in 1946.
Beyond its historical status, Mahabad is widely seen by Kurds as a center of Kurdish resistance against oppression, embodying the struggle for self-determination and national identity.
Kurdish Newroz festivities are famously colorful and extravagant, usually involving the use of traditional Kurdish symbols and the lighting of large fires.
The traditional Kurdish folk dance, known as Halparke, is also performed by mixed groups of men and women who dance holding hands, a custom not welcomed by Iran’s political and religious establishment.
In addition to banning the Halparke, Tehran also prohibits the use of Kurdish symbols and songs during Newroz celebrations.
On Friday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) deployed to Kurdish-majority regions and set up temporary checkpoints to interrogate people, according to the Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network.
Meanwhile, the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization on Friday reported about clashes between the Newroz celebrators and security forces in Kurdish-majority regions.
Several Kurds in Bukan and Oshnavieh in West Azerbaijan Province were also summoned by Iranian intelligence agencies and warned against participating in Newroz events, the watchdogs added.
