Dr Shilan Fuad Hussain is an academic and has been living in Italy most of her life, she is an expert in Middle Eastern Studies, she has obtained her PhD in Intercultural Studies from a leading Italian university.
“I moved from Baghdad to northern Italy in the early 1990s after the end of the First Gulf War."
"Italy has been hit strongly by COVID-19 causing over 30,000 deaths so far, the national lockdown started on March 9 but from May the 1st the restrictions have been eased and the government will gradually lift the lockdowns," Dr Hussain told SBS Kurdish.
Cases of COVID-19 have dropped but and the economy is slowly returning.
"For the first time we have seen a positive development in the number of COVID-19, currently daily deaths have dropped and are much lower. Most of Italy’s industry has started but a recurrence of COVID-19 could force the return of lockdowns."
"Italians will now be able to travel between regions to visit relatives provided they wear masks but schools and many commercial activities will stay closed."
The Kurdish community in Italy is a small community and mainly live in Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy.
“The estimated number of the Kurdish community in Italy is around 1000.”
“Coronavirus has reminded the Kurdish community including me of that first goulf war when the supermarkets were empty because of the conflict and the panic was spreading. Kurds have experienced such circumstances in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran where their existence has been denied. This has created a strong community, why should we fear Corona it’s true that it is a virus, it’s contagious but people also recover."
Kurdish women have traditionally played important roles in Kurdish society and politics. In general, Kurdish women's rights and equality have improved dramatically in the 21st century due to progressive movements within Kurdish society but according to Dr Hussain equality has not been reached yet, even in western countries.
“Women's life is more difficult than men's in society, even in western countries equality has not been reached yet. Since ancient times, Kurdish society was known as a male-dominated society, but we also find instances of Kurdish women becoming important political leaders.”
“I think it is important for Kurdish women in the diaspora to pursue their own destiny and retain whatever part of Kurdish culture they believe is an important part of their identity, and not be afraid to discard those aspects that they believe to hold them back from achieving their goals and dreams.”
Dr. Shilan Fuad Hussain is an expert in Middle Eastern Studies, since she has obtained her PhD in Intercultural Studies from a leading Italian university she has worked on a variety of topics such as political violence, diaspora, gender studies and Kurdish Studies. She is an interdisciplinary academic, her current work sits at the intersection of sociology and literary studies, and its symbiotic relevance to modern society.
