{{Short description|Forced assimilation of Yazidis by Kurds}}

[[File:Jesiden sind keine Kurden.jpeg|thumb|Yazidi demonstration against Kurdification of Yazidis ([[Hanover]], [[Germany]], 2018)]]

The '''Kurdification of Yazidis''' refers to [[forced assimilation]] of [[Yazidis]] by [[Kurds]].

== History ==

Since 2003, the [[Kurdistan Region]] has been attempting to identify the Yazidis as ethnic Kurds. According to [[Human Rights Watch]], Kurdish authorities have used heavy-handed tactics to kurdify the Yazidis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=On Vulnerable Ground: Violence against Minority Communities in Nineveh Province's Disputed Territories |url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iraq1109web.pdf |access-date=2022-03-10 |website= |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref>

The [[Kurdistan Democratic Party|KDP]]-[[Asayish (Kurdistan Region)|Asayish]] began after 2003 systematically arresting and intimidating Yazidi civilians who joined competing political parties, especially those who favored keeping [[Sinjar]]’s administration under the authority of the central government of [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=NRT |first=Matthew Barber {{!}} |date=2017-02-01 |title=The KRG's Relationship with the Yazidi Minority and the Future of the Yazidis in Shingal |url=https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/2017/01/31/the-krg-s-relationship-with-the-yazidi-minority-and-the-future-of-the-yazidis-in-shingal |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=genocidewatch |language=en}}</ref>

Kurdish political parties often claim the Yazidis are ethnic Kurds for political reasons.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fm0DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 |title=Non-State Violent Actors and Social Movement Organizations: Influence, Adaptation, and Change |date=2017-04-26 |publisher=Emerald Group Publishing |isbn=978-1-78714-728-7 |language=en}}</ref>

The Yazidi areas in Iraq are part of the [[Nineveh Governorate]] but the [[Kurdistan Regional Government]] (KRG) has incorporated many of these areas in the past and claiming them as a historical part of Kurdistan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Displaced Yazidis in Georgia find respite, but little else - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2015/09/yazidis-iraq-georgie-displacement-isis-attack-poor-unhcr.html |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=www.al-monitor.com |language=en}}</ref>

According to the [[United Nations]], Yazidis expressed concern over forced assimilation into Kurdish culture and identity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum-Seekers from Iraq |url=https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/46deb05557.pdf |access-date=2022-03-10 |website= |publisher=[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]]}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Kurdification]]

* [[Persecution of Yazidis by Muslim Kurds]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

{{Cultural assimilation|sp=ize}}

[[Category:Cultural assimilation]]

[[Category:Kurdish nationalism]]

[[Category:Kurdistan Region (Iraq)]]

[[Category:Politics of Iraq]]

[[Category:Yazidi history]]