Beating as a Political Culture in the Kurdistan Region

 

Darawan Ismahel – Kurdish Activist in Scotland

For years, the ruling Kurdish parties have revealed, in both subtle and overt ways, that beating has become a normalized and deeply rooted part of their political culture. What began with the mistreatment of freedom fighters soon extended to the beating of teachers in Erbil, and later, to the assault of ordinary citizens in Sulaymaniyah.

Today, the atmosphere is such that even confrontations between Political Bureau members and security forces have escalated into physical beatings sometimes occurring openly in front of media cameras. Such incidents no longer cause outrage; instead, they are treated as routine affairs.

This normalization of violence raises urgent questions:
When will the international community recognize these realities? How many more citizens must suffer before the bitter truth about the ruling parties is fully exposed? And crucially, how long will oil revenues, smuggling operations, theft, and corruption continue to shield these political structures from accountability?

The beating of workers, teachers, activists, and ordinary citizens is not random it is a systematic tool used to maintain power. As long as violence remains an accepted method of governance, real democracy and justice in the Kurdistan Region will remain out of reach.

Our Response: Awareness and Empowerment

Kurdish government must learn from what we are doing in diaspora. While they cling to outdated methods of control, we are working step by step to end their cycle of corruption through awareness, education, and the development of our youth. We are building a new generation that values justice, knowledge, and collective progress.
If the ruling parties fail to learn from this peaceful movement of enlightenment, they will inevitably face the consequences not through violence, but by finding themselves at the final page of their rule, isolated from the very people they once oppressed.