Rojda Aykoç
Encyclopedia
Rojda Aykoç née
Kadriye Şenses, (1978- ), is a contemporary Kurdish
singer. She was born in the village of Tutun a Misirca in the province of Siirt
in southeastern Turkey
. After finishing primary school, she moved to Istanbul
in 1991 and began working and singing in local music bands along with her brother Çiya. From 1993 she began working with Navenda Çanda Mezopotamya (Mesopotamia Cultural Center) and Koma Gulên Xerzan music bands. In her music, she has been influenced by several famous Kurdish singers, among them Karapetê Xaço
, Meyremxan, Ayşe Şan
and Merzîye Rezazî
. She has held many concerts in Germany
, Italy
, Austria
and Netherlands
.
court to 1 year in prison after she publicly performed a folk song in the Kurdish language
in Diyarbakir
, a year earlier. She had been invited to Istanbul
to speak with Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
to discuss his government’s "Kurdish opening" initiative. She was sentenced according to Article 7/2 of the "Anti-Terror Act" for "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization" on account of her singing the song "Heval Kamuran" ('Comrade Kamuran') - allegedly a reference to a member of the outlawed militant group, the PKK. In Turkey there are various restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language
in public.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Kadriye Şenses, (1978- ), is a contemporary Kurdish
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...
singer. She was born in the village of Tutun a Misirca in the province of Siirt
Siirt Province
Siirt Province is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. It has an area of 5,406 km² and a total population of 300,695...
in southeastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. After finishing primary school, she moved to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in 1991 and began working and singing in local music bands along with her brother Çiya. From 1993 she began working with Navenda Çanda Mezopotamya (Mesopotamia Cultural Center) and Koma Gulên Xerzan music bands. In her music, she has been influenced by several famous Kurdish singers, among them Karapetê Xaço
Karapete Xaco
Karapetê Xaço or Karabêtê Xaço or Gerabêtê Xaço , was an Armenian singer of traditional Kurdish dengbêj music....
, Meyremxan, Ayşe Şan
Ayse San
Ayşe Şan was a Kurdish singer born in Diyarbakır, Turkey. She is considered as one of the most influential voices in contemporary Kurdish music. Her father was a traditional Kurdish singer or dengbêj. Aysha began singing at local events in 1958...
and Merzîye Rezazî
Merziye Feriqi
Merziye Feriqi or Marziya Fariqi , was a Kurdish singer. She was born in Mariwan in west of Iran. Her family were originally from Sine. From a very early age, she was interested in music and singing, and was taking part in the local school music bands...
. She has held many concerts in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Imprisonment
Rojda reached international headlines in 2010 when she was arrested and sentenced by a TurkishTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
court to 1 year in prison after she publicly performed a folk song in the Kurdish language
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....
in Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, a year earlier. She had been invited to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
to speak with Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
to discuss his government’s "Kurdish opening" initiative. She was sentenced according to Article 7/2 of the "Anti-Terror Act" for "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization" on account of her singing the song "Heval Kamuran" ('Comrade Kamuran') - allegedly a reference to a member of the outlawed militant group, the PKK. In Turkey there are various restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language
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....
in public.
Albums
- Ji Bîr Nabin, Koma Xerzan, 1997.
- Sonda Me, 1997.
- Rûkena Min, 2005.
- Sebra Min, 2006.
- Mem û Zîn
- Şahiya Stranan
- Şevbuhêrka Dengbêjan, Roj TVRoj TVRoj TV is an international Kurdish satellite television station broadcasting programmes in the Kurmanji, Sorani and Hewrami dialects of the Kurdish language as well as in Zaza, Persian, Arabic, and Turkish.-Programming:...
.