Kurds in Sweden may refer to people born in or residing in the Sweden of Kurdish origin.
Most Kurdish people in Sweden live in the capital Stockholm or in Uppsala.[1]
A majority of Kurdish political refugees choose Sweden as their host country and therefore they have a cultural presence in Sweden.[2] As of 2017, 6 MPs in the Swedish parliament are of Kurdish descent.
1971-1975 A military coup in Turkey and the peace agreement in Iraq was established. Many Kurds left those countries and went to Uppsala.[citation needed]
1975 Huddinge becomes the first municipality offering Kurdish as a primary language.[3]
1984 The education of Kurdish teachers in Stockholm begins.[4]
1981-1985 During the military junta in Turkey, the Kurdish opposition fled to Syria and Iraq. The war between Iran-Iraq and the subjugation of Kurds in both of the countries intensified. [citation needed]
1986-1990 The Turkish regime's mistreatment of the Kurdish population fuels immigration to Sweden.[5]
The 26-year-old Kurdish woman Fadime Şahindal was murdered by her father in an honour killing in 2002.[7][8][9] Kurdish organizations were criticized by prime minister Göran Persson for not doing enough to prevent honour killings.[7]Pela Atroshi was a Kurdish girl who was shot by her uncle in a brutal honour killing.[10] The murder of Pela and Fadime gave rise to the formation of the human rights organization Never Forget Pela and Fadime (GAPF). GAPF is a politically and religiously independent and secular nonprofit organization working against honor-related violence and oppression. The organization's name is taken from Pela Atroshi and Fadime Sahindal which is Sweden's best-known and high-profile cases of honor killings.[11][9] The honor killing of Sara, an Iraqi Kurdish girl, was the first publicized honor killing in Sweden.[9][12][13] These three prominent cases of Sara, Pela and Fadime, brought the notion of honour killings into Swedish discourse.[7]
Eldén, Åsa (2004): Life-and-Death Honour: Young Women's Violent Stories About Reputation, Virginity and Honour – in a Swedish Context. In: Mojab, Sharzad/Abdo, Nahla (Hg.): Violence in the Name of Honour. Istanbul: Istanbul Bilgi University Press: 91-100
Rizvi, Javeria (2004): Violence in the Name of Honour in Swedish Society: What Lessons can be learnt from the Swedish Experience. In: Mojab, Shahrzad/Abdo, Nahla (Hg.): Violence in the Name of Honour. Istanbul: Istanbul Bilgi University Press: 211-223
Wikan, Unni (2008): In Honor of Fadime: Murder and Shame. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Wikan, Unni (2004) Deadly Distrust: Honor Killings and Swedish Multiculturalism. In: Hardin, Russell (Hg.): Distrust. New York: Russell Sage Foundation: 192-204
