The lewendi dresses are traditional Kurdish women’s dresses. Yasemin Süleymanoğlu has sewed these dresses and sold them in her tailor shop. She told us that she feels happy to maintain her culture.

MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – Kurdish women have worn lewendi (tradition) dresses in their daily life for centuries. These dresses have reflected the Kurdish culture with their different colors and embroideries on them.  Today, these dresses are preferred by Kurdish women to wear on many special occasions such as for International Women's Day, Newroz Celebrations, and wedding parties but women living in cities such as Şırnak, Hakkari, Van, and Siirt have worn their traditional dresses in daily life. Sewing these dresses takes a long time. Tailor Yasemin Süleymanoğlu has sewed these dresses since she began this job. Now she has a tailor shop called Tailor and Sewing House in Diyarbakır province.

“I receive orders from Europe”

Yasemin told us she learned this job from her mother, “When I started sewing these dresses at home, I was 17 years old. I improved myself and their colorful fabrics expanded my imagination over time. Then, I decided to open a tailor shop. Surely, it wasn’t easy at the beginning. I worked for years to cover the expenses of the shop. I expanded my business while raising my children. Now, I have received orders even from Europe. I don’t sew just lewendi dresses but also other traditional clothes.”

“My only aim was to keep my culture and values alive”

Stating that she has only sewed the traditional dresses, not other dresses, Yasemin said, “When I first started in this business, people used to tell me to sew pants or other dresses but I never sewed them. There are hundreds of tailor shops producing other clothes. When I started doing this job, my only aim was to keep my culture and values alive. So, I just sew traditional dresses that women wear on special days.”

“I feel happy when I sew”

Yasemin told us she felt happy when she sewed, “I both keep my culture and values alive and stand on my own legs. Surely, it is not an easy job; we spend days sewing a dress. But when we see women wearing the dresses, we feel happy.”