Kurdistan hosts Folklore festival honoring families of martyrs

Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

A folklore festival dedicated to the “families of martyrs” opened on Wednesday in Al-Sulaymaniyah’s Azadi Park, featuring a wide range of artistic and cultural performances celebrating Kurdish heritage.

Azima Haseeb, the festival’s supervisor, told Shafaq News that more than 30 participants from families of martyrs presented diverse folklore performances, including Kurdish songs, traditional dances, and displays of ancestral handicrafts and clothing.

She said the event will run for five consecutive days and aims to highlight “the richness of Kurdish folklore, preserve cultural traditions for future generations, and honor the role of martyrs’ families in safeguarding Kurdish identity.”

In the Kurdistan Region, the term “families of martyrs” refers to relatives of those who lost their lives in the Kurdish struggle for rights and autonomy. It encompasses the families of Peshmerga fighters killed in conflicts against former Iraqi regimes, particularly during the Anfal campaign and the 1988 Halabja chemical attack, as well as those who died resisting ISIS since 2014. These families are widely honored in Kurdish society as symbols of sacrifice and national resilience.