It was not uncommon for Lak women to join the men in battles. Freya Stark describes this tradition into the early twentieth century, along with the reputation these Kurdish ladies enjoyed in Iran:
From here we rode across country eastward over an easy but very stony shelf of Kebir Kuh, dipping into small combes and out again, but keeping more or less to the level of the Larti city, at about 4,500 feet. The great wall stretched out of sight before and behind us, as near and overwhelming as a wave about to break on the head of an insect swimming below.
Across the open lands beneath us on our left, we could see in its full outline the small tree-dotted range of Siah Pir, divided by clefts into separate hills. Blue enticing distances of Lakistan lay before us. Sa'id Ja'far, one of the pleasantest of companions, chatted about that country and its ways.
"The women there are more cruel than our men," said he.
"Last year, while they were at war with the government, one of them had a baby. When her husband asked to see it, she said: 'This is no time for children,' and took it by the feet and dashed it against the rocks. Many of them use a gun and ride like warriors with their tribes."
Language can offer valuable glimpses into the realities of a bygone age. Among the highest compliments in Kurdish for a woman are terms such as shera-jn ("lion-lady") and shora-jn ("knight-lady").
The association between women and warfare in Kurdish society was not limited to the Lak. Kurdish women from various regions and tribes participated in armed conflicts more frequently than is commonly assumed today. Yet this aspect of Kurdish history is only sparsely reflected in written sources. Instead, the memory of female warriors has been preserved largely through oral traditions, tribal histories, and folklore passed down across generations.
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