Turkey -- Rezan Zugurli is soft-spoken and unassuming, but she radiates charisma. You would never peg her as a fighter.
But a fighter she is. Born into a family of prominent Kurdish activists, Zugurli grew up in southeastern Turkey in the midst of an armed struggle for autonomy and political rights by the Kurds, a minority group making up one-fifth of the country's population. The fight has claimed more than 40,000 lives since its start 30 years ago.
At 22, Zugurli followed in her parents' footsteps by protesting in solidarity with Kurdish political prisoners. The act landed her in jail for 13 months for what she says was a false charge of stone throwing. And last month, Zugurli ran in local elections to be mayor of the Lice district, just two years after she was released and a year into a fragile ceasefire between the Kurds and Turkey's government. At 25, she is now the youngest mayor in the country's history.
We invite our users to read the full article published April 11 2014
Turkey -- Rezan Zugurli is soft-spoken and unassuming, but she radiates charisma. You would never peg her as a fighter.
But a fighter she is. Born into a family of prominent Kurdish activists, Zugurli grew up in southeastern Turkey in the midst of an armed struggle for autonomy and political rights by the Kurds, a minority group making up one-fifth of the country's population. The fight has claimed more than 40,000 lives since its start 30 years ago.
At 22, Zugurli followed in her parents' footsteps by protesting in solidarity with Kurdish political prisoners. The act landed her in jail for 13 months for what she says was a false charge of stone throwing. And last month, Zugurli ran in local elections to be mayor of the Lice district, just two years after she was released and a year into a fragile ceasefire between the Kurds and Turkey's government. At 25, she is now the youngest mayor in the country's history.
We invite our users to read the full article published April 11 2014