SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region - A renowned Kurdish feminist writer has criticized Kurdistan Region’s media and public for fixating on so-called “model girls”—female vloggers and influencers—while sidelining the cultural, artistic, and intellectual contributions of Kurdish women.
“The issue of the [female] vloggers and influencers has almost become a commodity that everyone talks about, reproduces, and reshares,” Houzan Mahmoud told Rudaw English, describing the constant cycle of social media attention that amplifies both admiration and criticism.
She noted that these women, often labeled “model girls” in Kurdish society, produce content that is seen by many as inappropriate. “They are making videos, saying things that are not appropriate sometimes, but people keep on sharing, [the] media keep on sharing, making toxic comments, so people bash them and criticize them,” she said.
The phenomenon reflects a larger cultural collision: conservative social norms clashing with the conspicuous wealth, lifestyles, and “indecent” content of influencers. Many of these women face rejection and hostility because their videos—from dancing to outspoken speech—are viewed as violations of traditional values.
“I think this is really damaging to Kurdish society and to our image and to the image of women and girls in general in our society,” the feminist noted.
The backlash is not limited to online harassment. It has, at times, turned deadly. In April 2024, Iraqi TikTok influencer Om Fahad was murdered after months of receiving online threats for her dance videos. She had earlier been sentenced to six months in prison for “undermining modesty and public morality.”
In early 2023, the Iraqi government launched a campaign against “indecent” online content, arresting and sentencing several influencers. Although the campaign did not extend to the Kurdistan Region, Kurdish female models have also been killed - whether by family members or strangers - under the guise of defending “honor.”
These incidents highlight a broader crisis. The Kurdistan Region continues to suffer from high rates of gender-based violence, including sexual assault, domestic abuse, so-called honor killings, child marriage, and female genital mutilation. Many cases go unreported because of the stigma of linking abuse to “family honor” in a deeply conservative society.
Mahmoud called for a more balanced narrative.
“I think there should be a more healthy balance of giving exposure to a lot of Kurdish girls and women who are creative, who are academic, who are activists, who are painters, writers, photographers, filmmakers,” she stressed.
“Where is the media? Why are they not highlighting… Kurdish women who are producing the best part of Kurdish culture?” she asked, lamenting the lack of visibility for women’s work and legacies in Kurdish media outlets.
Mahmoud made these remarks during an interview with Rudaw English on Friday on the sidelines of the inaugural Kurdish Studies Forum at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS). The forum, organized by AUIS’s Kashkul arts and culture center, sought to foster dialogue, research, and cultural exchange on Kurdish history, literature, and the arts.
Mahmoud also criticized the way Kurdish women are often portrayed by both Kurdish and Western scholars. “Kurdish women mainly have been given the status of the forever victim of war and Kurdish patriarchy,” she said. While acknowledging there are “elements of truth” to that narrative, she stressed that “that is not the whole picture.”
“Kurdish women have been and have always been, and they will be in the forefront of fighting against patriarchy, fighting against colonialism, [and] invasion,” she said, highlighting the role of Kurdish women in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). Noteworthy, female members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) played a key role in the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019.
Women “are a big pillar of art and literature and cultural production in Kurdish society,” the Kurdish writer said.
To shift the narrative, Mahmoud said she and her colleagues have launched “several research projects” to study the artistic production of young people in Kurdish society. These projects, she added, “need to be supported, recognized, and given more space in society.”