Düzen Tekkal

Düzen Tekkal (born September 2, 1978) is a German journalist, author and documentary filmmaker/director of Kurdish-Yazidi descent. She is also the founder and current chairwoman of the non-profit organization Háwar.

Early life and education

Düzen Tekkal's Kurdish-Yazidi parents immigrated from Turkey to Germany. One of eleven siblings, she was born and raised in Hannover where she also attended university. Tekkal studied Political science and German Literature at the University of Hannover.

Career

After working at the German Orient Institute in Hamburg for several years, Tekkal worked from 2007 to 2013 as an editor and reporter for the German commercial television network RTL.

Tekkal has been an independent journalist since 2014. She works as a journalist, filmmaker/director and war correspondent focusing on Syria and Iraq, and is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on Yazidis, Islamism and Salafism.

Tekkal is a non-Muslim member of the Muslim Forum Germany. In 2019, she was appointed by Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Müller to serve on a commission in charge of drafting recommendations on how to address the causes of displacement and migration.

Recognition

• 2010: Bavarian Television Awards
• 2017: Ramer Award for Courage in the Defense of Democracy awarded by the American Jewish Committee (AJC)
• 2018: Woman of Europe Award of the European Movement Germany

Filmography

• HÀWAR –My Journey to Genocide. Documentary, 2015.