They tend to be shorter and lighter than the average American. Traditional clothes for men consist of loose trousers with a shirt and jacket, cummerbund, and a skullcap over which is worn a turban folded from a large square of material (The Kurds 2003). Colors of clothing are frequently symbolic of the tribe, alliance, or political party its wearer belongs to. Yellow is the color of the PUK (The Kurds 2003). Green is the color of the KDP (The Kurds 2003). Women's clothing typically consists of loose trousers, a long loose overdress, a vest, and a headscarf covering the hair (The Kurds 2003). Some of the women's dresses and men's shirts have long, pointed sleeve extensions that are tied in the back or wrapped around the arms when working (The Kurds 2003). .
The family is very important to the Kurdish people. A household typically consists of a husband, a wife, and their children (Bulloch 1992). A girl marries into her husband's family and is very much under the thumb of her mother-in-law, who wields power considerably understated by her public behavior (Bulloch 1992). Most Kurdish marriages are arranged, and these marriages are usually endogamous. .
Kurdish society is traditionally tribal. Kurdish tribes are united more by geographical area than by relationship to a common ancestor. Traditionally, a Kurdish tribe or local political group at any given time had an acknowledged leader to who absolute loyalty was expected (Kurdish Life 2003). The leader's position was in some cases hereditary and in other cases elective and his power was frequently perceived in terms of the wealth at his command (Kurdish Life 2003). The leader made all decisions and could be counted on to keep foremost in mind the benefit to the tribe members and consequently to his own power as leader (The Kurds 2003). The inaccessibility of the area has caused the Kurdish society has remained basically tribal or local, despite the fact that the area has been nominally controlled by larger political entities for centuries (Chaliand 1993).