Kurds in Sweden
Ethnic group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kurds in Sweden (Swedish: Kurder i Sverige; Kurdish: Kurdên Swêdê) may refer to people born in or residing in Sweden who are of Kurdish origin.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 170,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Huddinge, Botkyrka, Västerås, Gothenburg, Örebro, Stockholm, Uppsala, Dalarna, Karlstad, Malmö, Borlänge, Falköping | |
| Languages | |
| Kurdish, Swedish (some knowledge of Turkish, Arabic and Persian) | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kurdish diaspora |
Most Kurdish people in Sweden live in the capital Stockholm or in Uppsala.[2] A majority of Kurdish political refugees choose Sweden as their host country and therefore they have a cultural presence in Sweden.[3]
Chronological Kurdish arrivals to Sweden
- 1975: Huddinge becomes the first municipality offering Kurdish as a primary language.[4]
- 1984: The education of Kurdish teachers in Stockholm begins.[5]
- 1986-1990: Economical decline and the claimed mistreatment towards Kurdish people by the Turkish Republic led to immigration to Sweden.[6]
- 1991-1995: The crises in Kuwait due to Iraqi invasion, the war in south Kurdistan, and mass exodus from Turkish Kurdistan into Iran.[7]
Political representation
In October 2019, thousands of Swedish Kurds staged a protest in Stockholm over Turkey's military operation in northeastern Syria.[8] In Sweden there are several MP of Kurdish descent such Amineh Kakabaveh, Gulan Avci, Lawen Redar, Sara Gille or Kadir Kasirga.[9] Kakabaveh was delivered the majority vote for that the Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson would become Swedish Prime Minister in 2021.[10] As in May 2022 Sweden made an accession bid to join NATO, Turkey demanded that Sweden ends its alleged support for the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).[11]
Controversies
Honor killings
The 26-year-old Kurdish woman Fadime Şahindal was murdered by her father in an honour killing in 2002.[12][13] Kurdish organizations were criticized by prime minister Göran Persson for not doing enough to prevent honour killings.[12] Pela Atroshi was a Kurdish girl who was shot by her uncle in a brutal honour killing.[14] The murder of Pela and Fadime gave rise to the formation of the human rights organization Never Forget Pela and Fadime (GAPF). GAPF is a politically and religiously independent and secular nonprofit organization working against honor-related violence and oppression. The organization's name is taken from Pela Atroshi and Fadime Sahindal which is Sweden's best-known and high-profile cases of honor killings.[15] The honor killing of Sara, an Iraqi Kurdish girl, was the first publicized honor killing in Sweden.[16] These three prominent cases of Sara, Pela and Fadime, brought the notion of honour killings into Swedish discourse.[12]
Notable people
- Category:Swedish people of Kurdish descent
- Evin Ahmad, Swedish actress and author
- Amineh Kakabaveh, Swedish independent politician
- Soran Ismail, Swedish Kurdish comedian
- Rojda Sekersöz, Swedish director
- Evin Incir, Swedish politician
- Balsam Karam, Swedish writer and librarian
- Dilan Gwyn, Swedish-Kurdish actress
- Gulan Avci, Swedish politician
- Dee Demirbag, Swedish dancer and singer
- Kurdo Baksi, Swedish social commentator and author
- Dilba, Swedish pop singer
- Jwan Yosef, Swedish and Syrian painter and artist
- Rawez Lawan, Swedish former professional footballer
- Nalin Pekgul, Swedish Social Democratic politician
- Darin (singer), Swedish singer-songwriter
- Hayv Kahraman, Iraqi-American-Swedish artist
