Merziye Feriqi: Voice that embraces four parts of Kurdistan

September marks not only the anniversary of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” uprising that sparked in Rojhilat Kurdistan following the killings of Shiler Rasouli and Jina Mahsa Amini but also the death anniversary of Kurdish singer Merziye Feriqi.

In Rojhilat, the voice of Merziye Feriqi is one of the strongest voices for the architects of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” philosophy, demanding freedom.

Born on May 5, 1958 in the city Marivan, Rojhilat Kurdistan, Merziye was interested in music and singing when she was a child. At a young age, she learned that singing Kurdish songs at school was banned and the reality of colonial Kurdistan. When she returned home, she learned that she could not sing songs because she was a girl. In an interview, she said that she had been “punished” many times for singing songs.

“Once, my uncle put me inside a tandoor oven. It was a narrow space and the soil inside the tandoor oven was very hot. He put me inside the tandoor oven because I had sung songs at school. My uncle punished me in that way and asked me not to sing songs again. At that time, I understood what the colonial regimes were and how we were condemned to poverty by them.”

She finished her elementary and high school in Marivan, and then started working as a teacher in one of the villages of Marivan. In 1977, she started working with the Korî Musîqay Sine (Music Choir of Sanandaj) and appeared in concerts several times.

In 1978, she was arrested for her involvement in the Iranian Revolution. In 1980, the shah had left the country and he was replaced by someone worse than the Shah: Khomeini.

As soon as Khomeini consolidated his position, he launched operations against the Kurds and revolutionaries. At the same time, Merziye joined the Peshmerga forces of Komala and formed a music band named Korî Bangewaz. She recorded several songs in that period.

Music had no boundaries for her; stage, city, street, mountain, school… Everywhere was the same for her to sing, compose and record songs.

In 1984, she and her spouse Nasser Razazi left Iran and sought refuge in Sweden. Her songs were also broadcast on the Kurdish satellite television Med TV. She also got involved with women and children rights movements and became a member of the Association for Children's Rights in Sweden. She presented a program on women's rights called Jîlemo for Medya TV, a Kurdish TV.

Merziye Feriqi died on September 18, 2005 at the age of 47 after a surgery in Stockholm, Sweden.

Her voice embraces four parts of Kurdistan and her song “Be To” tells of her longing for Kurdistan in exile.