Children of Fire: Kurdish Female Fighters and the Struggle for Woman, Life, Freedom by Shahrzad Arshadi and Anna Chatterton

In 2018, Shahrzad Arshadi and Anna Chatterton travelled to the Qandil Mountains of Kurdistan, where they were hosted by a group of Kurdish female freedom fighters. After living with and gathering accounts of these extraordinary women, they returned home to create a searing piece of theatre that not only amplifies their voices but also deftly examines privilege, feminism, and the nature of courage. With contributions from the authors and the resistance fighters, Children of Fire is a unique, genre-blurring collection that includes the original play script, an interview, photographs, candid personal essays, letters, poems, and testimonials.

This vital hybrid work examines how the freedom fighters’ struggle is in aid of peace and the protection of the environment, as well as the Kurdish people and women everywhere. During these anxious and turbulent times, it can feel easy to give up hope. Children of Fire offers a wake-up call to connection and change, emphasizing that we are all part of this critical fight, and that together, we can create a better world for everyone.

Praise for Children of Fire

“Blending drama, first-person accounts, personal essays, images, and lyrical prose, Children of Fire is like nothing you’ve ever read before—a boundary-defying, genre-bending work that tells the extraordinary stories of Kurdish female freedom fighters and their fight for liberation. Shahrzad Arshadi and Anna Chatterton travel to the hills of Kurdistan to bring us the voices of revolutionary women, warriors and artists, mothers and daughters, who’ve dedicated their lives to creating a better future for themselves and for women everywhere. This is an astonishing tale of resilience, courage and determination. To read this book is to be transformed; it will leave you enriched, inspired, and deeply moved to action.” —Ayelet Tsabari, author of Songs for the Brokenhearted

“Children of Fire is a rare and urgent document of Kurdish women standing at the front lines of resistance. Through their powerful testimonies, the book reveals a struggle for freedom and gender equality that is as intimate as it is transformative.”
—Soheil Parsa, award–winning theatre director

“Children of Fire captures the emotional and ideological breadth of Kurdish women’s revolutionary dreams and lives, transcending their geographic and political struggles to touch on universal themes of freedom, justice, hope, solidarity, and human dignity. The book unflinchingly critiques global power dynamics while challenging the passive consumption of these stories as mere spectators, and instead issues a direct call to action.” —Shahrzad Mojab, editor of Kurdish Women Through History, Culture, and Politics