Kurdish Women's Prison Writings Crossing Borders: Translation As Feminist Solidarity

The book cover for "THE PURPLE COLOR OF KURDISH POLITICS; Women Politicians Write from Prison; Edited by Gultan Kisanak; TRANSLATION COORDINATED BY RUKEN ISIK, EMEK ERGUN AND JANET BIEHL" is displayed in the center of the image. The bottom of the image reads "Kurdish Women's Prison Writings Crossing Borders: Translation As Feminist Solidarity".
Participants : 
  • Emek Ergun, Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Global Studies, UNC Charlotte
  • Seda Saluk, Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, University of Michigan
  • Kumru Toktamış, Associate Professor of Political Sociology, Pratt Institute
  • Suna Parlak, Independent Domestic Violence Advocate and Educator, Asian Women's Resource Center
  • Hazal Hürman, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, Princeton University
Event Date: 
March 15, 2023
Event Time: 
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Location: 
Zoom / Registration required
Event Accessibility : 
Auto captions will be enabled. Please contact irwg.events@umich.edu if you nee other accommodations.
Event Tags: 
panel discussion
gender
writing
politics
online event
The book cover for "THE PURPLE COLOR OF KURDISH POLITICS; Women Politicians Write from Prison; Edited by Gultan Kisanak; TRANSLATION COORDINATED BY RUKEN ISIK, EMEK ERGUN AND JANET BIEHL" is displayed in the center of the image. The bottom of the image reads "Kurdish Women's Prison Writings Crossing Borders: Translation As Feminist Solidarity".

The Purple Color of Kurdish Politics is a one-of-a-kind collection of prison writings from twenty-two Kurdish women who were elected to office in Turkey and then imprisoned by the state on political grounds. In the book, the authors reflect on their personal and collective struggles against heteropatriarchal and anti-Kurdish repression in Turkey, as well as the radical feminist principles and practices through which they transformed the political structures and state offices in which they operated. Demonstrating Kurdish women's ceaseless political determination and refusal to be silenced - even when behind bars - the book ultimately hopes to inspire women living under even the most unjust conditions to engage in collective resistance.

The English translation of The Purple Color of Kurdish Politics, published in November 2022, was collectively undertaken by a group of twenty-six volunteer translators. So very much like the original text, the translation itself has been a product of feminist solidarity. In this panel, members of the translation team get together to discuss the book and its English translation as part of the larger Kurdish women's movement.

Register to receive the Zoom link: https://myumi.ch/8e4dg

**Note, this event will take place from 12-1 PM EST**

Sponsored by IRWG and the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies