Portsmouth to Consider Formal Twinning With Iraqi City of Halabja
Portsmouth City Council is set to revisit a proposal to establish a formal friendship link with Halabja, a Kurdish city in northeastern Iraq, in a move aimed at honoring a historical figure who protected British officers during and after World War One.
The twinning arrangement, first suggested in 2019 by Kurdish Home — a Portsmouth-based community organization — was shelved when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. It will now be discussed Thursday by the council's twinning advisory group.
At the heart of the proposal is Lady Adela, a Kurdish noblewoman from the Jaff tribe, which governed the Halabja region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Recognized for maintaining peace and restoring stability in the area, she hosted British delegations during World War One and played a crucial role in shielding British political officers during the 1919 revolt led by Kurdish nationalist leader Mahmud Barzanji.
Barzanji had launched a targeted campaign to murder all British political officers in the region. Lady Adela resisted by granting refuge to those officers inside her own homes, saving them from execution. In recognition of her bravery, the British government conferred on her the title of Khan Bahadur, meaning “Princess of the Brave.”
A council report suggests that a link with Halabja could bring multiple benefits to Portsmouth, including “educational partnerships, cultural exchange, community cohesion, civic engagement and the strengthening of Portsmouth's international relationships.”
Halabja itself carries deep historical weight. The city was the site of the largest chemical weapons attack ever directed at civilians, carried out by Saddam Hussein's regime in March 1988. Around 5,000 people were killed, and thousands more suffered long-term injuries.
Local Kurdish residents have encouraged the twinning proposal partly because of the parallel between Halabja's suffering in 1988 and Portsmouth's own experience during the Blitz, which claimed nearly 1,000 lives. The symbolic connection, they argue, would bind the two cities through shared resilience.
Although the council has noted there are “limited resources” to support such a link, Thursday's meeting could set the stage for deeper dialogue and future cooperation.
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