Iraqi Kurdistan honors Leyla Qasim on 52nd anniversary of execution by Baath
Shafaq News- Khanaqin
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq held ceremonies on Tuesday to honor Leyla Qasim, the Feyli Kurdish activist executed by the Baath regime 52 years ago, drawing local officials, Kurdish party representatives, and a large gathering of residents to the center of her hometown.
Speakers recalled Qasim's resistance against the Baath regime and her defense of Kurdish rights, saying her legacy has endured in Kurdish national memory as a symbol of sacrifice and freedom, according to a Shafaq News correspondent.
President Nechirvan Barzani, in a statement, called Qasim "not only a national symbol, but also a beacon of awareness and leadership for the women of Kurdistan," saying her conduct in prison and before her execution proved that Kurdish women carry "unwavering determination" and a readiness to sacrifice for their people's freedom and dignity.
پەیامى سهرۆك نێچيرڤان بارزانى لە ساڵيادى شەهیدبوونی لەیلا قاسم و هاوڕێکانیداhttps://t.co/yDZFWC84uY pic.twitter.com/HULO79yzts
— Kurdistan Region Presidency (@KurdistanRegion) May 12, 2026
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani wrote that Qasim and her comrades "freely gave their lives for the freedom and dignity of their people."
شەهید لەیلا قاسم و هاوڕێکانی لەپێناو ئازادی و کەرامەتی گەلەکەیان، ئازایانە گیانی خۆیان بەخت کرد و بوون بە سەرمەشق و هێمای بەرخودان بۆ هەموو ئازادیخوازانی کوردستان.لە پەنجا و دووەمین ساڵیادی لەسێدارەدان و شەهیدکردنی لەیلا قاسم و هاوڕێکانیدا سڵاو دەنێرین بۆ ڕۆحی پاکیان و ڕۆحی…
— Masoud Barzani (@masoud_barzani) May 12, 2026
About Leyla Qasim
Born in Khanaqin on January 27, 1952, Qasim joined the KDP in 1973 while studying at the College of Arts at the University of Baghdad, where she built a reputation for political activism and underground organizational work. Baath security forces arrested her on the night of April 24, 1974, at her Baghdad home, taking her alongside four cell members: Nariman Fuad Masti, Hassan Hama Rashid, Azad Suleiman Miran, and her fiancé Jawad Hamawandi. Weeks of physical and psychological torture and a show trial followed. All five were executed on May 12, 1974. In 2023, her personal belongings entered the Martyrs of the Homeland Museum in Barzan.
Known as the "Bride of Kurdistan," Qasim remains one of the most prominent figures in Kurdish national memory, commemorated each year as an icon of sacrifice and resistance.
