KRG grants a week of official leave for Yazidi public sector workers during Jamayi Feast

ERBIL — The Kurdistan Regional Government has granted all Yazidi employees in public institutions one week of official leave to mark the annual Jamayi Feast, an official from the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs told 964media.

Saud Misto, director general of Yazidi affairs at the ministry, said, “The leave for Yazidi employees will last one week, coinciding with the Jamayi Feast, which begins on Oct. 6, 2025, and concludes on Oct. 13, 2025.”

The weeklong religious festival, also known as “the Gathering and Feast of Seven Days,” is referred to by Yazidis as “ziyaret” or “the pilgrimage.”

The decision follows Kurdistan Region’s Presidential Decree No. 16 of 2010, which designates annual leave for Yazidi civil servants during the Jamayi Feast.

The Jamayi Feast is held each year at the Lalish temple in Shekhan district, where hundreds of Yazidis from across and outside the Kurdistan Region gather for a week of religious ceremonies.

During this sacred period, Yazidis from around the world strive to travel to Lalish, their holiest site.