Diana Nammi is a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

and British activist. She received a Barclays Woman of the Year Award in 2014. She was also named one of the

BBC 100 Women ''100 Women'' is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's women ...

in 2014.

Life

Nammi was born in Iran. Her father was a progressive thinker, who inspired her later activist work. Nammi was thrown out of school in

Sanandaj Sanandaj (Persian: سنندج, ; ku, سنە, Sine, often romanized as Senneh, is the capital of Kurdistan Province in Iran. With a population of 414,069, Sanandaj is the twenty third largest city in Iran and the second largest Kurdish city. San ...

at 14 for throwing food at a belligerent teacher who had accused her of being promiscuous. She went on to organize protests in favor of "secularism, equality and human rights" during the

1979 Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

. Nammi was nearly arrested as a teenager for speaking up for the rights of women. She went on to join up and fight for 12 years as a

Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...

, often as a front-line fighter. She continued to speak out for women's rights. She became pregnant in 1991, and fled to Iraq, Turkey, and finally to the United Kingdom in 1996 to raise her child in safety after a chemical bomb attack killed 35 people near the radio station where she worked. Nammi was granted asylum in the UK.

Activism

Nammi founded the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organization (IKWRO) in her home in 2002. She founded the organization when the translator who helped Nammi and her daughter settle in the United Kingdom was killed. The translator was killed by her own husband, and the police did not wish to call it an "honor crime" as they believed it was an issue of culture. Nammi was outraged, and founded the organization to argue against "us ngculture to justify murdering women." IWKRO strove to provide counseling and advice for women that were from the Middle East, North Africa, or Afghanistan or raised in their communities. As of 2014, the organization had 16 paid staff and has helped over 780 women in-person. Nammi has been an outspoken advocate against

honor killing An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...

forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

, and the rights of women to divorce in religious marriages. The IKWRO works to provide women with legal access and safe places for women to go for refuge. The organization also works to bring issues of honor attacks and honor killings to the attention of the larger public. In 2013, Nammi joined The National Commission on Forced Marriage to help eliminate practices of forced marriage in the United Kingdom. Nammi and her organization were central in getting two of the killers of

Banaz Mahmod Banaz is a town and district of Uşak Province in the inner Aegean Region, Aegean region of Turkey. The mayor is Zafer Arpacı (Justice and Development Party (Turkey), AKP). Banaz district area neighbors those of two other districts of the same p ...

, who was killed in an honor killing, extradited to the United Kingdom for prosecution. This was the first ever extradition of its kind. Nammi organized a campaign, entitled "Justice for Banaz," that called for the extradition. The men were later convicted. Nammi considers this extradition her chief success. Nammi also played a central role in changing law in the UK to ban forced marriage. Nammi continually advocates for schools, police, and other sources of services to the public to be educated on how to help victims of forced marriage or honor violence.

Honors

In 2012, Nammi was named one of the 150 Women Who Shake The World by

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

and

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

. Nammi received a Barclays Woman of the Year Award in 2014. Nammi also received a Women on the Move Award from

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

in 2014. Also in 2014, she was named one of the BBC's 100 Women. She received a Voices of Courage Award from the Women's Refugee Commission in 2015. Also in 2015, in recognition of her contributions to legal issues, she was named a part of the Inspired by Law gallery by students at

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

. In same year, she was named one of the Women of the Year by the magazine Red. In 2016, she was awarded an honorary degree from the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

. She speaks in publicly regularly to defend the rights of women. Her TEDx speech has been viewed thousands of times of YouTube.

Further media

Nammi speaking with the BBC about honor killing statistics in the UKDiana Nammi's TEDxEastEnd talk

Tribute video to Nammi by the Women on the Move Awards 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nammi, Diana Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British women activists Kurdish activists British women's rights activists Kurdish women activists Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom Iranian activists Iranian women activists