Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran

Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran

Abduction of Christian girls by Kurds, 1910

Abduction of Christian girls by Kurds, 1910

Includes correspondence among the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its office in Urumiyah, the Ministry of Interior, the Iranian Embassy, and the Ottoman Embassy, regarding the abduction of three Christian girls by Kurds in the villages in the vicinity of Urumiyah. First, regarding Katrin, who was abducted by Qasim and his group, and was taken to Haydarlu village, includes the account of freeing the girl and her testimony on being taken by force; and the consequent revenge of the Kurds against the people of Haydarlu who helped in the girl’s rescue and injuring Khalil Bayg and killing his son, Sayf Allah. Second, Dilishuh [?], who was abducted by Mahmud and taken from Sardurud to Balanj village; she was rescued with the help of Sharaf al-Din Bayg, the Ottoman Shahbandar, and his deputy, Iskandar Afandi. Third, Banshua [?] from Anhar village, who was abducted by the Kurds from Kurad Dasht, including ‘Umar and Muhammad, relatives of Gurgin Khan Shuja‘ Lashkar; includes the futile negotiations and the necessity to use force, therefore announcing it to the Ottoman Embassy, whose government sieged some regions around Urumiyah, to corporate with the government forces; in the meantime, the girl managed to escape to Anhar and then to Urumiyah, and stayed at the houses of French Catholic missionaries; she recounted her abduction and refuted the rumor of meeting with Shaykh Qadir and converting to Islam. The Kurds responded by attacking Sangar village, which resulted in the killing of a Christian woman, but they eventually retreated after the government intervention.