Perception of women and gender in Kurdish proverbs: Northern Iraq (Kurdish region) example

Culture includes all material and spiritual traditions, customs, values, beliefs, habits, technology and all value-added elements made by humans. Language serves as the basic element of culture, and incorporating the mindset of the society, both in writting and verbally. One of the most important elements of poetry, folk literature and language is proverbs, which represent the common thought, short and concise discourse of a nation and reflect the society's culture and mentality. The main goal of this study is to show how woman are protrayed and viewed in Kurdish proverbs. However, the proverbs in-study about women are viewed in terms of gender. For this purpose, a descriptive analysis method has been used to scan the dictionaries of proverbs of Kurdish people living in northern Iraq. This study will examine the image of women, their positions and social statutes, using terms such as girl, daughter, woman (wife), woman (general name), husband and wife, mother, widow, old woman, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, elder, and bride. In this context, women come second to men, and the identity of woman is based on that of men rather than having a special identity, a general view that exists in proverbs to this day. This view also plays a role in increasing pressure on women. However, both good and bad comparisons are always made about woman. The negative image of a bad woman is loaded with negative meanings, whereas the image of a good woman is viewed as a female rather than a human being.