The Cigarette Controversy
June 30, 2023 — approximate date
I used photographs of myself smoking a cigarette to draw attention to the unequal standards applied to men and women. My intention was to challenge a double standard that can have devastating consequences for women.
To explain my action, let me give one example: a graveyard in my city, Sulaymani. It contains the graves of women described as “disgraced” or “dishonored.” The graves are little more than ditches, marked only by a stone or a fragment of stone. My understanding is that these women were murdered by members of their families. I believe the authorities know about such killings but fail to intervene out of deference to what is treated as the sanctity of the family sphere.
To me, invoking the “family sphere” to shield violence against women echoes the persecution associated with historical witch hunts: accusations become a means of policing women’s behavior, and punishment is presented as a defense of social morality.
The accusations used to condemn women can include sexual activity, kissing, hugging, smoking in public, expressing what others consider “excessive” joy, or disobeying the head of the family. Under these expectations, ordinary expressions of personal choice can become grounds for humiliation, threats and violence. In some circumstances, women face beatings or death in the name of so-called family honor.
I had a couple of photographs taken of me smoking a cigarette. I was not promoting smoking. I know that smoking harms health and costs money. I wanted to ask a simple question: why can a man smoke publicly without his honor being questioned, while a woman doing exactly the same thing may be condemned or placed in danger?
For generations, actresses have been pictured smoking in films and photographs, sometimes presenting an image of independence or rebellion in a world dominated by men. A cigarette can become a way of saying, “I can do that too.”
I also remember older women in Kurdish society smoking openly, even while working. Their presence complicates the idea that smoking has always been an exclusively male practice. The boundaries imposed on women are neither uniform nor unchanging.
But smoking itself is not freedom. In this context, it was a gesture of rebellion. Women do not need to smoke—or imitate men—to claim equality. We can challenge restrictions, speak publicly and insist on our dignity without picking up a cigarette.
Two different worlds. Both women.