Emergent Conversation 24

This essay is part of the series Kurdistan(s): Repression, Resistance, and the Fight for Survival,
PoLAR Online Emergent Conversation 24

By Massoud Sharifi

Between Renewal and Resistance: The Dual Role of Newroz in Iranian Kurdistan

Between March and April 2025, more than a hundred towns and villages across Iranian Kurdistan celebrated Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, which coincides with the spring equinox. The term Newroz, meaning “new day” in both Persian and Kurdish, signifies a deeply rooted cultural celebration that marks the transition from winter to spring and symbolizes renewal at both seasonal and societal levels. Historically, Newroz has developed through a complex amalgamation of agrarian customs and religious traditions, influenced in part by ancient Mesopotamian festivals such as the Babylonian Akitu (Boyce 1982, 34). Although Newroz is broadly observed across the Middle East and Central Asia as a celebration of natural renewal, it carries distinct political and cultural significance for the Kurdish people, who have long faced systemic marginalization and repression as an ethnonational minority.

In Iran, Kurdish identity is shaped by competing and often contradictory narratives. The state’s official discourse incorporates Kurds into the national imagination ambivalently, portraying them as loyal yet exoticized “border guardians” of “Aryan lineage” (Sharifi 2021, 414). This strategy of conditional inclusion serves to symbolically acknowledge Kurdish presence while denying substantive cultural or political rights. Opposing this narrative is a powerful counter-discourse that casts Kurds as internal threats to national unity. This process of “othering” operates through four primary mechanisms: the securitization of Kurdish identity by associating it with separatism; accusations of foreign allegiance; orientalist portrayals that depict Kurds as backward or tribal; and religious marginalization stemming from their divergence from Iran’s Shi’a majority identity (Hassaniyan 2024; Sharifi 2021). Since the 1979 revolution, these discursive strategies have been used to legitimize various forms of state repression, including military aggression, cultural censorship, economic disenfranchisement, and the mass incarceration of political dissidents—Kurds now constitute nearly half of Iran’s political prisoner population (Rehman 2019).

In this repressive socio-political landscape, for Kurds, Newroz functions as more than a cultural festivity; it becomes a potent act of resistance. As a performative assertion of Kurdish identity, Newroz challenges hegemonic state narratives through its visible, embodied, and communal expressions. This piece examines Newroz as a socio-political ritual in contemporary Iranian Kurdistan, employing visual ethnography—photographs and 123 videos downloaded from public Telegram channels (nishtemanijoan and Jiyanewey_kurdistan)—to analyze how material culture, bodily presence, clothing, and spatial occupation serve as expressions of political subjectivity and collective belonging.

From Celebration to Symbol: The Politicization of Newroz

Since the early twentieth century, Newroz has undergone a profound transformation—from a seasonal agrarian celebration into a powerful symbol of Kurdish political resistance. This evolution exemplifies how cultural rituals can be reinterpreted as tools of nationalist expression (Hintz and Quatrini 2021). Traditionally observed as the agricultural new year, Newroz held particular importance in rural Kurdish communities, where it was closely associated with land cultivation, seed sowing, and livestock-related rituals. However, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of modern nation-states prompted Kurdish elites—especially those affiliated with the Kürdistan Teali Cemiyeti (Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan)—to reimagine Newroz as a national myth (Yilmaz 2010). In this reconfiguration, the festival became increasingly linked to Kurdish ethnonational identity and aspirations for self-determination.

The politicization of Newroz intensified throughout the mid-twentieth century, particularly in Iraqi Kurdistan, where the festival gained official recognition and evolved into a prominent platform for both cultural expression and political mobilization (Van Bruinessen 2000). By the 1980s, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had incorporated Newroz into its ideological narrative, reinforcing the festival’s association with broader narratives of Kurdish resistance (Aydin 2005).

A significant turning point occurred in the 1990s, when Newroz in Turkish Kurdistan emerged as a site of overt political defiance. The period was marked by widespread uprisings (Serhildan) and state repression. To undermine the festival’s oppositional connotations, the Turkish government officially rebranded it in 1991 as the Turkish cultural celebration “Nevruz” (Aydin 2005; Rudi 2018). Nevertheless, Newroz has continued to serve as a powerful transnational symbol of Kurdish identity, celebrated across Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and within the Kurdish diaspora.

In the Iranian context, Nowruz (in Persian) holds a complex dual symbolism. On a state scale, it is embedded within Persian cultural heritage and pre-Islamic imperial narratives, functioning as a central element of Iranian romantic nationalism and the construction of “Iranianness” (Mohammadpour 2024). During the Pahlavi dynasty, Nowruz was instrumentalized as a tool for royal legitimation, reinforcing the monarchy’s authority through cultural symbolism, while the Islamic Republic later reconfigured it as a domesticated, family-centered holiday within the bounds of Persian national identity (Khalid 2020). In contrast, for Iranian Kurds, Newroz has increasingly become a politicized occasion, deployed as a means of asserting Kurdish national distinctiveness and contesting Persian-centric cultural narratives.

This politicization has gained renewed urgency in the aftermath of the 2022 death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini, which ignited widespread protests and galvanized the Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement (see Rostampour in this series). Within this context, Newroz has been revitalized as a vehicle for articulating demands related to gender justice, civil liberties, and minority rights. By 2025, Newroz celebrations had expanded to over 113 Kurdish-populated towns in Iran, with mass gatherings—exceeding 150,000 participants in cities such as Urmia—underscoring its amplified symbolic resonance.

In its contemporary form, Newroz serves as a subversive and performative space. Bakhtin’s (1984) concept of the “carnivalesque” analytically explains how the festival temporarily disrupts dominant political hierarchies through public expressions of Kurdish identity, mixed-gender participation, and the enactment of traditional cultural performances. Accordingly, Newroz becomes a moment of subversive visibility and collective affirmation, temporarily reshaping the boundaries of what can be publicly expressed and enacted. Next, I employ visual ethnography to investigate the 2025 Newroz celebrations, examining how this ritual functions as a performative expression of collective resistance and a contestation of dominant conceptions of Iranianness in the wake of Jina Amini’s murder. Unlike conventional Newroz gatherings, which have historically been informal and dispersed due to state-imposed restrictions on Kurdish cultural expression, the 2025 Newroz was unprecedented in its scale, organization, visibility, and symbolic significance.

The 2025 Newroz Celebrations in Iranian Kurdistan: Ritual, Symbolism, and Spatial Politics

Central to the celebration of Newroz is the ritual lighting of fire, a practice rooted in Zoroastrianism that traditionally symbolizes purification and sanctity. In the Kurdish context, however, this act has acquired additional layers of meaning, serving as both a symbol of historical resistance and cultural renewal. The political resonance of the ritual is heightened by the legend of Kawa the Blacksmith, who, according to Kurdish folklore, lit a fire atop a mountain to signal the overthrow of the tyrant Zahak. Kawa’s act of rebellion has been embraced as a mythic foundation of Kurdish identity and as a symbolic link to the Median Empire—often idealized in nationalist discourse as a lost golden age (Aydin 2005; O’Shea 2004; Wallis 2015).

Documentary evidence from 2025 reveals that fire-lighting rituals were choreographed with deliberate symbolism. Participants gathered in circular formations around bonfires, with torch bearers ceremonially igniting the flames. These moments often initiated collective dancing and chanting. Young boys and girls, dressed in traditional Kurdish attire and bearing the Jamane (headscarf), circled the fire with raised fingers forming the “V” sign of victory. In this context, fire emerges as a dynamic agent that transcends its aesthetic and sacred dimensions, embodying collective memory, fostering solidarity, and expressing political defiance.

The Helperkê, a traditional Kurdish circle dance (see Figure 1), also exemplifies the ritual grammar of Newroz. Performed in synchronized formations led by a dancer waving a handkerchief, Helperkê functions as a performative expression of collective unity. Its choreographic structure encourages participatory rhythm and movement, reinforcing social cohesion. While rooted in folkloric tradition, Kurdish dance has evolved into a politically charged and dynamic cultural practice. Of particular significance is the mixed-gender composition of dance groups, which challenges state-enforced norms of gender segregation. In Iran, such performances—especially when involving both men and women—are frequently suppressed by authorities who deem them antireligious and subversive. As Judith Butler (2011) contends, performance is not merely expressive but constitutive of identity. Viewed through this lens, Helperkê transcends its folkloric origins to become a ritual of political affirmation and gender inclusivity. This transformation is further accentuated by the chanting of politically resonant songs during performances, often invoking themes of resistance, cultural endurance, and love.

In addition to its choreographic elements, Newroz is saturated with visual and material symbolism that serves as a performative “archive of resistance” (Taylor 2015). Traditional Kurdish attire—distinguished by regional variations in textile and embroidery—was prominently displayed, often alongside politically emblematic clothing such as the Jamane and Khaki uniforms historically associated with Kurdish guerrilla movements. These sartorial choices evoke both cultural heritage and a legacy of opposition. The Kurdish national tricolor—red, green, and yellow—appeared in garments and accessories, functioning as a potent marker of transnational Kurdish identity. In Iran, however, public displays of the Kurdish flag are prohibited, rendering such acts politically charged.

Women’s participation added a particularly significant political and symbolic dimension to the 2025 celebrations. Women were visible in leadership roles, from initiating dances and lighting ceremonial fires to delivering public speeches. In some instances, women donned traditionally male attire, visually subverting gender norms and reaffirming their centrality in the cultural and political reimagination of Kurdish identity. These acts reflect broader developments within contemporary Kurdish movements, where gender equity is increasingly integrated into nationalist discourse (Dirik 2022; see also Rostampour in this series).

The spatial dynamics of Newroz celebrations highlight their political significance, particularly through the strategic use of rural and peripheral urban areas by Kurdish communities, which function as acts of “spatial resistance” (Beck 2019). In the context of the Iranian state’s pervasive surveillance and repression, which aim to suppress unauthorized public gatherings, such reappropriation of space becomes a deliberate assertion of cultural and territorial presence. Participants in these non-state-sanctioned events face considerable risks, including arrest, abuse, and detention, emphasizing the contested nature of public space. The 2025 Newroz celebrations illustrate a clear transformation from informal, scattered gatherings to coordinated public spectacles featuring stages, sound systems, and carefully designed architectural elements. This shift signals an increased capacity for collective organization and a purposeful use of space as a medium for cultural visibility and political expression, reaffirming Newroz as a powerful site of resistance and identity.

Counter-Narratives and De-Othering

Although local authorities officially sanctioned Kurdish Newroz celebrations, this approval failed to reflect any substantive shift in state policy. In practice, security forces continued to undermine these festivities through intimidation, arbitrary detentions, and restricted access (Hengaw — Organization for Human Rights, accessed September 30, 2025). Such actions reveal the Iranian state’s ambivalent stance toward Kurdish national expression—permitting symbolic displays while simultaneously suppressing their actual enactment. In the city of Urmia, state-affiliated Azeri groups organized counterdemonstrations that incorporated Shi’a mourning rituals and anti-Kurdish slogans, thereby asserting ethno-religious dominance and seeking to reclaim contested public spaces (Seif Qazi 2025). At the same time, over 800 Iranian intellectuals publicly condemned what they described as the “ethnicization of Nowruz,” arguing that Kurdish expressions of the holiday had reduced a “glorious, ancient, and national” holiday into a “tribal, ethnic, and local ritual” (Saazandegi Media Group 2025).

Within this paradoxical framework—where Kurds are simultaneously situated inside and outside the boundaries of national belonging—Kurdish collective practices acquire heightened political significance. Among these, Newroz stands out as a counter-hegemonic performance that subverts dominant state narratives and challenges the structural production of Kurdish otherness. Through its ritual and spatial dimensions, Newroz operates as a form of political re-signification and identity articulation. This process of “de-othering” (Henry and Leroy-Dyer 2025) is enacted through three interrelated performative gestures: humanization, the assertion of alterity, and emancipatory agency.

The first gesture, humanization, contests representations of Kurds as inherently subversive by foregrounding scenes of joy, community, and peaceful celebration. This reframing serves to affirm Kurdish dignity and legitimacy, challenging dehumanizing stereotypes and reinscribing Kurds within shared normative frameworks of civil life (Smith 2017). The second gesture, the assertion of alterity, affirms the cultural distinctiveness of Kurdish identity through language, music, dance, and collective memory. Rather than endorsing essentialist or separatist logics, this expression resists assimilationist pressures and fosters transnational solidarity across transnational Kurdish communities. Finally, the third gesture, emancipatory agency, articulates a progressive, intersectional political vision. Embodied in the slogan Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom), this dimension of Newroz links cultural affirmation to broader demands for gender justice, pluralism, and democratization. In doing so, it repositions Kurdish identity not as a threat, but as a transformative force within the broader regional political landscape.

Massoud Sharifi is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a researcher at the Research Centre for Migration (CER-Migracions). His research focuses on political sociology and social policy.

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