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Mission Statement
Kurdistan Justice and Peace Academy (KJPA)was established in 1998 as a non-profit corporation and non-governmental organization, and it is not affiliated in any way with any political organization.
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In its commitment to justice and peace, KJPA fosters unity among Kurds, advocates respect for human dignity and encourages understanding and reconciliation among Kurds and their neighboring nations.
KJPA promotes advancement of knowledge about cultural, social and economic conditions of Kurds through research and scholarship.
KJPA prepares Kurds for future leadership by educating them about non-violent means to build a world of justice and peace.
KJPA offers justice and peace studies to provide Kurds with academic means for integrating and understanding of the many crises facing the Kurdish nation in the 21st century.
During the last decade, KJPA has offered interdisciplinary studies through workshops, seminar, conferences in liaison with American universities. Subjects studied include Kurdish history, culture, linguistics, economy, and ecology / environmental issues.
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M. Kajal Rahmani, President & Founder
Dr. Kajal Rahmani is director of K.J.P.A; a former professor of anthropology and a scholar with special interests in Mesopotamia, Kurds, women, and religious minorities in Kurdistan.
At the present time she is a research Fellow with Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. Her research project is on Yezids/ Ezdis.
She has been an advocate for Kurdish causes for three decades and has presented hundreds of lectures and written many articles on Kurds and ethnic minorities in the Middle East.
Her upcoming book and memoir entitled "That was then and this is now" is the story of a long journey of a Kurdish woman who has been through Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish and Non- Kurdish entanglements.
Dr. Kajal Rahmani was born and raised in Eastern Kurdistan in the city of Senah/Sanandaj. She completed high school in Senah at Mastooreh Ardalan High School. Due to lack of availability of any institution of higher education in Senah, she began teaching at primary schools in her hometown. She married and moved out of Kurdistan and attended college while raising two children. She received a Bachelor Degree with Honors from Jundi Shapur University in Iran.
Dr. Kajal continued her education in the United States and received her Masters and Doctoral degrees in anthropology with honors from Oklahoma University in 1986. Since then, she has been an activist and advocate for Kurds, while teaching, lecturing and conducting research at several American universities.
Dr. Kajal Rahmani is a remarkable scholar - a thinker, a visionary, and a polyglot; she has utilized her wealth of knowledge and her passionate love for Kurds in the pursuit of justice and peace for all Kurdish people.
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