Close-up of an elder Yezidi woman, in a Viransehir village, in Turkish Kurdistan. Yezidism is an ancient religion in the Middle East, supposedly the original religion Kurdish people before their conversion to Islam. Halai dances during the celebration of a traditional Yezidi wedding in a village of Viransehir.
Yezidistry to keep getting marriedonly among peopleof the same ethnicity. But it is estimated that only some Yezidis are left in Turkey, most of them located in the area of Viransehir, in the Urfa province.
Hacer, a Kurdish woman, milking goats with the help of her children. Hacer lives in the same Viransehir village where she was born, and her life goes on according to Yezidis traditions. Hacer, in one of the rooms of the house she shares with her husband and four children. Viransehir landscape, through the window of Hacer's home.
Kurdish society, especially in rural areas, is still very conservative. The role of women is often associated with confinement in the family home. Cotton fields in the Kurdish region of Urfa, where most of the cotton produced in Turkey come from. Every year, thousands of seasonal workers come here to work during two months. Aysegul 14 years old is the only one of five sisters who still continues to study.
Her sisters left early the school to get married or help the family in agricultural work, but Aysegul wants to study to be a doctor. During september and october, she combines school with the work in the cotton fields. For many young Kurdish girls, temporary work in the fields is their unique life experience away from home. Despite the hard work, it is also a time to socialize outside their male family environment. Aysegul, with her sisters and friends, comes back home after a workday in the cotton fields of Urfa.
