The words Kurds, Kurdistan, and Kurdish were officially banned by the Turkish government. Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life. Many people who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.

Why is Kurdistan not a country?

Amid the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from three northern provinces, Kurdistan Region emerged in 1992 as an autonomous entity inside Iraq with its own local government and parliament. A 2010 US report, written before the instability in Syria and Iraq that exists as of 2014, attested that Kurdistan may exist by 2030.

Are Kurds a minority?

Kurds represent by far the largest non-Arab ethnic minority. They are the overwhelming majority in al-Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, and Dahuk governorates. The Kurds are almost certainly also a majority in the oil-rich region around Kirkuk.

What religion are the Kurds?

Nearly all Iraqi Kurds consider themselves Sunni Muslims. In our survey, 98% of Kurds in Iraq identified themselves as Sunnis and only 2% identified as Shias. (A small minority of Iraqi Kurds, including Yazidis, are not Muslims.) But being a Kurd does not necessarily mean alignment with a particular religious sect.

Do Kurds marry cousins?

Therefore, for all Kurds the preferred form of marriage is with patrilateral cousins (the children of siblings of the same sex, FBD/FBS—fathers brothers daughter and son) while cross-cousin (the children of the siblings of opposite sex, FZD/FZS—fathers sisters daughter and son) marriages are rarely practiced.