21 years have passed away since dengbej (traditional Kurdish story-teller) Ayşe Şan known as “uncrowned queen” died. Ayşe Şan was born in Diyarbakır in November, 1938 and she has also been known with her names Eyşana Kurd, Eyşe Xan, Eyşana Osman and Eyşana Êlî. She tried to hold on to life in male-dominant world and she resisted against pressures and bans on her language and culture to the end. She was one of the women dengbej faced the most deeply poverty, male-dominant mindset, exile and pain. She was forced into marriage when she was a child and she grew up among Dengbej people. She was exiled to Antep, Istanbul, Germany, Baghdad and İzmir due to feudal pressures and the state's ban on Kurdish language. Ayşe Şan died in İzmir on December 18, 1996. She has been commemorated every year on December 18 by Kurdish women Dengbej.

 

Source: Çatlak Zemin