| Hapsa Khan | |
| Birth Date: | 1891 |
| Birth Place: | Sulaymaniyah |
| Death Date: | 12 April 1953 |
| Nationality: | Kurdish |
| Occupation: | Teacher, activist |
| Known For: | Founded the first women's school in Iraq |
Hapsa Khan (ku|حەپسەخان|Hepise Xan) was an early Kurdish feminist[1] [2] and nationalist leader who founded the first women's school in Iraq.[3] The organisation was called the Kurdish Women's Association.[4]
She was born in 1891 in Sulaymaniyah to a prominent Kurdish family. She was the daughter of Sheikh Marif and Salma Khan. In 1926 she played a significant role in the foundation of the first school for girls in Sulaymaniyah/Silêmanî "by going from house to house with the teachers to register as many girls as possible, and to even convince parents to send their daughters to school".[5] The German photographer Lotte Errell described Hapsa Khan as a woman “whose husband gets up when she enters the room”.
In 1920, Hapsa Khan married the Kurdish leader Sheikh Qadir Hafid,[6] brother of Mahmud Barzanji, who played a leading role in the Kurdish resistance to British occupation. She played a role in the revolt by financing it, convincing others to join it and organising protests in Sulaymaniyah.
In 1930, Hapsa Khan sent a letter to the League of Nations, advocating for Kurdish rights and a Kurdish state. When Qazi Muhammad founded the Republic of Mahabad in 1946, she supported the decision to declare independence.
After her death in 1953, her home became a school. Hapsa Khan continues to be a strong influence on modern Kurdish women. In February 2019, Kurdistan24 reported that the winner of a fashion contest in Sulaymaniyah based her design for a traditional costume on Hapsa Khan's style.[7]