De Facto State Of Mind

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Why I Consider Myself Unemployed Rather Than A Stay-At-Home Parent

I remember asking once, as a child who had recently discovered the injustices of capitalism, why I couldn’t opt out of it by “going…

Feb 25, 2023

On The Completion Of Level One

It feels wrong to talk about you in the third person, so I’m going to write this to you directly. I’ve been raising you for a year…

Feb 22, 2023

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Something I Haven’t Been Able To Figure Out

I often get asked when I’m going back to work. The answer is usually “I don’t know”. In my culture, it’s kind of a given that I’ll go…

Jan 21, 2023

Disqualifying Myself From The Natural Parenting Competition

While I was pregnant, I was dead-set on being a “crunchy granola” parent. I’ve always been interested in a healthy and sustainable…

Jul 13, 2022

Disqualifying Myself From The Natural Parenting Competition

Jul 13, 2022

A Manifesto For My Daughter

At some point, quite soon, I suspect, I’m going to have to talk to my daughter about why she faces discrimination. Frankly, it’s a…

May 11, 2022

May 11, 2022

Religions, Religions, Most Of Them Wrong

I must confess, I didn’t grow up with much Kurdish representation. The only way to do things was by the book — and the dictionary…

Jan 9, 2022

Religions, Religions, Most Of Them Wrong

Jan 9, 2022

Self-Improvement, Self-Blame And Internalised Kurdophobia

“It’s a lot easier to go out for a meal and avoid the bread basket than it is to go out into the world and avoid anti-Kurdish…

Jan 8, 2022

Self-Improvement, Self-Blame And Internalised Kurdophobia

Jan 8, 2022

Who In Their Right Mind Would Want To Be Kurdish?

I’m 20. I have blue eyes and I was blonde as a child. I’ve occasionally thought of taking up playing the violin. As part of a seemingly…

Jun 19, 2021

Who In Their Right Mind Would Want To Be Kurdish?

Jun 19, 2021

Shock Horror! I’m Attracted To People Of My Own Ethnicity.

It’s become a habit of mine to tell white people I have the romantic interests of a frigid nun. “I don’t date,” I say. “I’m not into…

May 26, 2021

What It Means To “Work Like A Turk”

I bumped into one of my friends, my first Kurdish friend in fact, the other day and we’ve been back in touch online too. We mentioned our…

May 9, 2021