Same culture but different governments: attitudes toward abortion among Kurdish people in Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, divided between five countries. Despite political and geographical segregation, they share a common culture and history, leading to the belief that they possess similar attitudes. We investigated abortion attitudes among 1473 Kurds in Iraq and Iran using WVS data during 2000–2020. Results revealed an overall increase in positive attitudes towards abortion, though scores remained below average. Initially, the differences were negligible, but divergence occurred in 2020. Cultural factors and higher education had the most significant impact on attitudes. Iraqi Kurds consistently scored higher, and the differences were particularly significant in 2020. These findings confirmed the impact of macrostructures on attitudes. Iraqi Kurdistan’s secular federal government facilitates legal abortion under medical conditions. Conversely, Iranian Kurdistan is under the domination of a centralized Islamic government that has restricted all types of abortion, resulting in a more restrictive abortion attitude.