Nazand Begikhani
Encyclopedia
Nazand Begikhani is a contemporary Kurdish
writer, poet and academic researcher, and an active advocate of human rights.
Begikhani, born in Koysinjak (Koya)
in Iraqi Kurdistan
, has been living in exile since 1987 when she sought refugee status in Denmark
. She received her M.A and Ph.D in comparative literature
from the Sorbonne in France
, and published her first collection of poems in Paris, 1995. She has published five poetry collections in Kurdish and Bells of Speech is her first collection in English. She has also translated works of Baudelaire and T. S. Eliot
into Kurdish
. Her works in English and French have been published by the Poetry Magazine, Ambit magazine, Poetry Salzburg Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, Exiled Writers' Ink, Action Poétique, etc. Her poetry collections have been translated into Arabic, Persian, French, English and German.
Nazand Begikhani is also an active advocate of human rights and is a founding member of the network campaign, Kurdish Women Action against Honour Killing (KWAHK), later changed to Kurdish Women's Rights Watch
(KWRW). She has provided expert advice on honour-based violence (HBV) to a number of government bodies. Between 2007-2009, she sat on the board of the High Commission to Monitor Violence Against Women in Kurdistan Region and participated, as an expert witness and independent observer, in its seasonal meetings. Her work has had considerable influence on action and strategy to address HBV in Kurdistan. She has published academic work in Kurdish, English and French.
Nazand Begikhani has worked with the Kurdish Institute of Paris
, the Kurdish Cultural Centre in London and BBC Monitoring
. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol
and Editor-in-Chief of the Kurdish edition of Le Monde Diplomatique
.
Selected books and anthologies featuring Nazand Begikhani's work:
Dr Lynn Welshman and Sarah Hussain, Zed Books, September 2005.
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
writer, poet and academic researcher, and an active advocate of human rights.
Begikhani, born in Koysinjak (Koya)
Koi Sanjaq
The town Koi Sanjaq is located in the Erbil Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan, close to the Iranian border.Wallace Lyon, travelling through the town in 1923, compared it to Sulaimani and noted that it was a centre for tobacco...
in Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
, has been living in exile since 1987 when she sought refugee status in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. She received her M.A and Ph.D in comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
from the Sorbonne in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and published her first collection of poems in Paris, 1995. She has published five poetry collections in Kurdish and Bells of Speech is her first collection in English. She has also translated works of Baudelaire and T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
into Kurdish
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
. Her works in English and French have been published by the Poetry Magazine, Ambit magazine, Poetry Salzburg Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, Exiled Writers' Ink, Action Poétique, etc. Her poetry collections have been translated into Arabic, Persian, French, English and German.
Nazand Begikhani is also an active advocate of human rights and is a founding member of the network campaign, Kurdish Women Action against Honour Killing (KWAHK), later changed to Kurdish Women's Rights Watch
Kurdish Women's Rights Watch
Kurdish Women's Rights Watch was set up in June 2004 as a non-profit-making, non- political network of activists, academics, lawyers and journalists. Based in the United Kingdom, KWRW grew out of Kurdish Women's Action Against Honour Killings , an association that was set up in 2000...
(KWRW). She has provided expert advice on honour-based violence (HBV) to a number of government bodies. Between 2007-2009, she sat on the board of the High Commission to Monitor Violence Against Women in Kurdistan Region and participated, as an expert witness and independent observer, in its seasonal meetings. Her work has had considerable influence on action and strategy to address HBV in Kurdistan. She has published academic work in Kurdish, English and French.
Nazand Begikhani has worked with the Kurdish Institute of Paris
Kurdish Institute of Paris
Kurdish Institute of Paris , founded in February 1983, is an organization focused on Kurdish language and culture. It is one of the main Kurdish academic centers in Europe...
, the Kurdish Cultural Centre in London and BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation which monitors, and reports on, mass media worldwide. Based at Caversham Park in Caversham, Reading in southern England, it has a number of overseas bureaux including Moscow, Nairobi, Kiev, Baku, Tashkent, Cairo, Tbilisi, Yerevan...
. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
and Editor-in-Chief of the Kurdish edition of Le Monde Diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique is a monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first created mainly for a diplomatic audience as its name implies...
.
Poetry Works
- Yesterday of Tomorrow, Collection of Poetry, Association of Kurdish Artists in France, Paris, 1995.
- Celebrations, Collection of Poetry, Aras, Iraqi Kurdistan, 2004.
- Colour of Sand, Collection of Poetry with Dilawar Qaradaghi, Aras, Iraqi Kurdistan, 2005.
- Bells of Speech, Ambit Books Publishers, London, 64 pp., 2006. (English) ISBN 0900055111
- Bells of Speech, Collected Poems, Ranj Publishers, Sulaimaniya, 2007.(Kurdish)
- Love: An inspired Absence,Poetry Collection, Ranj Publishesrs,Sulaimaniya, 2008
- Ranin Al-kalam, Translation of collected poems Bells of Speech into Arabic by Qays Qaradaghi and Muhammad Afif al-Hussaini, Dar Al-jamal, Lebanon, 2011
- Couleur de Sables, translation of Colour of Sand into French by Shakour Bayz and Bertrand Foly, L'Harmattan, Paris, 2011.
Selected books and anthologies featuring Nazand Begikhani's work:
- Circulation of Meaning: A selection of media internviews with Nazand Begikhani, Ranj Publishers, Sulaimaniya, 2008.
- "Honour-based violence among the Kurds: The case of Iraqi Kurdistan” Honour : Crimes, Paragigms and Violence against Women”, edited by
Dr Lynn Welshman and Sarah Hussain, Zed Books, September 2005.
- “Here Me There” in Crossing the border: voices of refugee and exiled women, edited by Jennifer Langer, Five Leaves publications, 2002.
- “Kurdish women: A space for the self”, in The Silver Throat of the Moon: Writing in Exile”, edited by Jennifer Langer, Five Leaves, 2005.
- Modern Kurdish Poetry", an anthology of Kurdish poetry by Kamal Mirawdali and Stephen Watts, Upsala, 2006.
- “Voice“ in Inspired Verse by Wyndham Thomas (Corsham Print, Easter 2007).
- “The war was over”, in The Poetry of Recovery by Sante Lucia Books, USA, 2007.
- “At a happiness symposium in Wales” in Fragments from the Dark by Jeni Williams & Lateafa Guemar, Hafan Books, 2008.
- “An ordinary day” in The Forward Book of Poetry by Forward Ltd in association with Faber and Faber, 2007.
- “Anfal genocide: Collective Memory and Kurdish Political Will, in Silence and Mass Murder by Heme Kake Rash, Sardam Publishing House, April 2008.
- “After Shocks: The Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events”, by Tom Lombardo, Saint Lucia Books, Atlanta, Georgia, 2008.
External links
- Nazand Begikhani, Exiled Writers Ink!.
- Nazand Begikhani, New Writing Partnership.
- Poetry Reading by Nazand Begikhani, British House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, May 2007. - Poetry Magazine, No.17, 2001.
- Nazand Begikhani, Start the Week, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio 4, 25 December 2006. - Interview with women's rights campaigner Dr Nazand Begikhani, June 2006.