On 22 January 1946, five months after the end of World War II, the Kurdistan Republic of Mahabad was founded in Iran by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) under the leadership of Qazi Muhammad.

This Sunday marks the 77th anniversary of the establishment of the Kurdistan Republic and Kurds all around the globe celebrate this milestone in Kurdish history every year.

The “Jin Jiyan Azadî” uprisings, which have been going on for five months and are led by Kurdish women in the very lands where the Kurdistan Republic was founded, make this year’s anniversary celebrations even more meaningful.

Iran’s Kurdish cities have been at the forefront of the protests sparked by the September death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Jîna Mahsa Amini.

The vast majority of the 10 million Kurds living in the country live in cities in Iran’s westernmost region, known as Rojhilat in Kurdish. Iran has been using increasing violence to quell the uprising in Kurdish cities.

In recent weeks, the most violent clashes between Iranian security forces and protesters have been taking place in Mahabad, where the Republic of Kurdistan was founded 77 years ago.

On 15 December 1946, Iranian forces entered Mahabad, bringing an end to the Kurdish Republic. Qazi Muhammad was publicly hanged on 31 March 1947.

The Kurdistan Republic of Mahabad existed for less than a year. But it still symbolises the Kurdish struggle for freedom and independence.