The Kurdish Roots of Iran’s Freedom Movement

The Kurds have been a distinctive community within Iran for centuries, and their relationship with the central government has frequently been fraught. That relationship grew even more strained when an Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died under suspicious circumstances after morality police arrested her. The unprecedented anti-regime demonstrations that Amini’s death precipitated help make clear that the Kurds’ long struggle for representation in Iran is a microcosm of the struggles that millions of other disenfranchised Iranians also face. Please join the CSIS Middle East Program for a conversation on Kurdish identity in Iran, what it means in the wake of anti-government protests, and where things might go with Behrouz Boochani, Tara Azizi, and Jason Rezaian.

This event is made possible by general support to CSIS.