WIDOWHOOD IN
IRAQ: A NEGLECTED GENDER
ISSUE
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
The effects of decades of
violence; the Iraq-Iran war, extra-judicial killings and now the occupation,
insurgency and lawlessness have resulted in a significant increase in the
numbers of Iraqi widows and wives of the “disappeared”.
There are no official
statistics, but Iraqi women’s NGOs estimate that today, over 60% of all Iraqi
adult women fall into this category.
Our sources of information inside Iraq report that
over 100 new widows are created every day.
Neglecting this important issue will have irrevocable consequences for Iraqi
society.
The UK has an
obligation, under international law, to set up an independent inquiry into the
number of Iraqi deaths and casualties since the occupation, and to count the
numbers of widows. Social policies – to support and rehabilitate families torn
apart by the invasion – can only be effective if this inquiry is carried out.
Recent reports (c.f. the Iraqi Body Count and the Lancet) estimate that some
65,000 civilians, mostly men have been killed since 2003.
The poverty, marginalisation
and vulnerability of millions of Iraqi widows has been exacerbated by the
prevailing violent situation, in which women, across Iraq, (whether
Kurds, Shi'a or Sunnis) are now having to deal with repressive attitudes which
discriminate against women, and particularly widows. They, their children and
other dependants are amongst the most needy, whilst, at the same time these
women hold crucially important roles as the sole supporters of their families.
Without adult male relatives to protect them, and with limited opportunities for
employment they are often trapped, within their homes. Honour killings, suicide, forced
prostitution, trafficking, “widow-inheritance”, abductions and rape are now
daily occurrences affecting widows of all ages. Many fleeing violence are internally
displaced persons and refugees. The full implications of Art 41 of the draft
Iraqi Constitution will do little to ease their
plight.
It is incumbent on the
UK government not to abandon
their commitment to gender justice in Iraq. It promised so much to the
women of Iraq and these promises must be kept.
DFID funded the Iraqi
Women’s Internship programme from
2005 to 2006 at the WNC, and its positive achievements must not be allowed to
fall by the wayside. DFID must
increase its support for such programmes, as they have proved invaluable in the
fight for gender equality. The UK government has a commitment to the women and
the widows of Iraq, and should take the lead in
this area in order for other major donors to follow
suit.
WPD was concerned to learn,
in mid May, with reference to the rejection of its proposal,
under the framework of the Revised Political Participation Fund that
Iraq was no longer deemed to be a
priority area for its work.
We respectfully request that
the Iraq Commission give due
consideration to the situation of widows in Iraq, to support
an inquiry into their numbers and socio-economic status and the welfare of their
children and other dependents. This
would enable strategies to be developed which would ensure that they are fully
able to participate in the peace-building and reconstruction process. Also, to ensure that the human rights of
women as enshrined in the CEDAW, the Beijing Platform, and UN SCR 1325 are fully
protected. Real reconstruction and
development in Iraq depends on women being able to
have equal participation. Poverty
and inequality are the breeding grounds for future conflict.
(We believe that Lady Jay is
already well aware of the situation of widows, since she was a speaker at the
International Conference on International Widows Day, held last June at the FCO.
We greatly appreciated her support that day and her participation in the APG on
UN SCR 1325.)
SUBMISSION
1.
Lack of
statistics.
As Lady Greenstock stressed,
at the WPD/UNIFEM meeting at the UN CSW Round Table on Widowhood and Conflict,
in 2004, the lack of statistics on widowhood in Iraq is a major
obstacle in getting governments and donors, and the international community to
address this vital and neglected issue. UN SCR 1325 requires “all actors in
conflict resolution and prevention to consolidate data concerning women”. Since
there is no official data on widowhood, the
UK government should fully support
efforts to gather this information. (All the previous data on widows in the
census is now completely out of date). Given that women are now in the majority
– 60% women to 40% men, and that 60% of women fall into the category of widows
or wives of the missing – the UK government must accommodate this
reality when formulating policy in relation to peace-building and
reconstruction.
2.
Independent
Inquiry into Iraqi deaths and casualties.
This is an obligation under
international law, including UN resolutions. HMG should ensure that such an
inquiry accommodates investigations into the numbers of widows and
orphans.
3.
Alternative
methods of data gathering.
At present we have only
rough estimates from our Iraqi NGO partners, in Kurdistan, Basra and Baghdad. The Iraq-Iran war, the atrocities
under Saddam Hussein, (including the Anfal and Habibja massacres and gassings),
and now the daily killings of Iraqis through the insurgency have created vast
numbers of widows, many of whom are young mothers. Unofficial estimates suggest
that between 100 and 150 new widows are created every day.
Many women are wives of the disappeared, not knowing whether they are widows or
not. Some still hope for the return of their husbands, but in this situation
their personal status is unclear leaving them with complex problems and unable
to find closure and move on with their lives. For example, there are still mass
graves to be identified and excavated. Women are extremely vulnerable in this
situation.
4.
A project designed by WPD to gather data in such
situations.
WPD has
devised an alternative method of gathering such vital information which has been
successfully used in Nepal. Using this method, it would be
possible to identify Iraqi widows’ numbers and ages, and other useful indicators
such as numbers and ages of dependants, health, economic and education status,
life-styles, basic and long-term needs, support systems, legal status, access to
justice system, coping strategies, and experience of violence. Women’s NGOs are
the key to this process, it is they who are the custodians of this vital
knowledge, and who can be supported and trained to carry out simple surveys
which can inform policy development. Such a project enhances the capacity
building of women’s and widows’ organisations, furthermore supporting such an
initiative in Iraq accords with UN SCR 1325.
5.
Enhancing UK’s
role in promoting gender equality and democracy in Iraq.
The
reputation of the UK government would be greatly
enhanced in the region and internationally if it could take a lead in addressing
widowhood issues, since no other donors are engaged with the topic. Moreover,
since widowhood is a grossly neglected issue in almost all conflict-afflicted
countries, programmes initiated or supported by HMG could be adapted in other
regions. Iraqi widows’
organisations could become leaders in the Middle
East for putting widowhood issues on the map. In addition, a focus
on widowhood would bring together women across Iraq,
irrespective of ethnicity or religion. All widows, from the old to the very
young, share common experiences and have common needs. As such, they can play their part
towards the peace-building and reconstruction of Iraq and be
regarded not merely as helpless victims, but rather as agents of
change.
6.
Political
representation of widows.
The UK government
needs to recognise, that women are not a homogenous group, but have diverse
and complex needs. The most
vulnerable and needy women, such as widows, are often not represented in the
decision-making process. Despite the fact that 33% of the Iraqi government is
comprised of women, their limited power base has meant they have been unable to
fully represent and articulate the needs of their female constituents. With the
increase in fundamentalism, female MPs have been unable to protest the
requirements in Art 41 of the draft constitution. Neither, do many women’s NGOs speak out
against the many issues of vital concern to widows such as inheritance rights,
custody, forced remarriage,
“temporary marriage”, child marriage, social and financial support. Thus,
there is a real need to support the establishment of a national federation of
Iraqi widows, as an umbrella organisation for widows’ associations across the
land. Given that women now form a majority of the Iraqi population and that a
majority of those are widows or wives of the “disappeared”, the
UK should take steps to ensure that
the needs and rights of such women are protected and recognised. In this way
widows’ voices will be heard and appropriate policies developed in consultation
with them.
7.
Why is this topic
important?
Widows as female heads of
households, sole carers (of children, wounded, sick, traumatised and the
elderly), are likely to be amongst the very poorest in their communities. The human rights of Iraqi women pre-
1990’s were far advanced compared to other women in the region. Today,
discrimination, oppression and increasing marginalisation has totally changed
their lives. The poverty of widowhood, in an environment of violence, has had
dire consequences for their children, also entrapping them in poverty. WPD
receives constant reports of children begging in the streets in order to support
widowed mothers, and grandmothers. Children not in school are vulnerable to all
manner of exploitation and abuse which will affect Iraqi communities for years
to come, if not addressed now. Child marriage, relatively uncommon before the
overthrow of Saddam, is now prevalent. Widows may be forced, through poverty, to
give away, sell, or arrange child marriages for daughters they can no longer
support. Children, denied education and training, are vulnerable to being
recruited for terrorist activity, for prostitution and for trafficking. Lack of attention to the issues of
widowhood in Iraq will increase poverty and
inequality and create the environment for future conflict.
8.
Role of
UK NGOs in Reconstruction and
Development.
It is essential that the UK
Government, through DFID and FCO programmes on gender justice in
Iraq, support UK NGOs, which work in partnership
with Iraqi Women’s NGOs. WPD is the umbrella organisation for many
widows’ associations in various conflict-afflicted countries, including those in
Iraq. It is also a founding member of GAPS UK (Gender Action on Peace and
Security) which has helped
put widowhood on the various agendas in the framework of UN SCR 1325, for
example at the Wilton Park Conference on 1325 held last year. We hope that DFID would support WPD in organising a special meeting at the
2008 UN CSW, where the sub-theme is “Women in Armed Conflict” which could
bring Iraqi widows to the UN to speak about their needs and
roles.
9.
WPD recently had meetings
(through the agency of Ann Clwyd’s office) with the Minister for Anfal Affairs, of the Kurdish Regional Government.
The Minister asked for support from WPD to address the problem of the
50,000 Anfal widows, mirroring the concerns expressed in this submission,
concerning lack of any official statistics about their numbers, life-styles,
basic and long-term needs. These women, 20 years after the gassings, endure
extreme economic and health problems. The small sums they receive from the
Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) are inadequate to sustain them.
10.WPD also works
closely with the Kurdish Human Rights
Project (KHRP), and has been
training Kurdish women’s NGOs on how to use the international human rights
machinery to improve their status and participate politically and economically
in development and democracy building. They also would welcome support from the
UK government so that the
issues of widowhood in Kurdistan could be
addressed. Many widows returned to Kurdistan from Iran to live in
great poverty and distress.
11. Suicide rates among
Kurdistan women and girls.
Recently, we completed a
fact-finding report, on behalf of KHRP,(commissioned by the European
Parliament) on “The Increase in Suicide
among Kurdish Women and Girls”. Here again, lack of any reliable statistical
information made investigation difficult. However, we were made acutely aware
that suicide is on the increase, as well as honour killings disguised as suicide
due to the extreme difficulties women are experiencing at the present time.
Unsupported widowhood, gender-based violence, and forced marriages are seen, by
our informants, as some of the causes.
12.
Support for the UK WNC working with Iraqi Women’s
NGOs.
We would like to see more
support given to the UK WNC so that it could continue to provide
internships for Iraqi women and promote the “cascade” training that was such a
success in 2005. It would be important, if the programme is revived, that DFID
request a component on widowhood and one of the activists on widowhood issues,
from Baghdad and from Kurdistan, are invited on to it.
13.
The APG
(Associated Parliamentary Group) on 1325, Widowhood sub-group.
As Lady Jay will be well
aware, the APG identified “widowhood” as one of the four key topics to be
addressed by its 4 sub-groups. (The other three focus on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gender
Training of Troops). The widowhood sub-group, co-ordinated by WDP’s Director,
identified a lack of statistics
as the major obstacle – in all conflict-afflicted countries – to getting
widowhood on national and international agendas concerned with conflict
resolution, management and prevention. We mention this fact as it may help to
persuade the Iraqi Commission that WPD is not a lone voice in expressing
concern at the plight of widows. Others are now joining us with new
understanding of the importance of addressing this issue if there is to be any
hope of Iraq, and other countries emerging
from conflict, enjoying real stability in the future.
14.
Widows’ political
participation.
It is vital that widows are
supported, equipped, trained to participate in decision-making at all
levels. The Iraqi Draft Constitution Committee did
not have a single woman on its panel. There are no women speaking on behalf of
the millions of widows either in the Iraqi Parliament, or in the Kurdistan
Regional Government. The issues pertaining to widowhood are many and complex,
therefore it is essential that those with the experience and knowledge of such
women’s needs are fully consulted. As in so many countries in transition from
conflict to reconstruction, the
Ministry for Women is woefully under resourced. We recommend that DFID
supports a separate Widowhood Office within the Ministry, with widow-focal
points in local government so that widows, everywhere, have a point of reference
where they can go for legal and other advice, and through which could help
co-ordinate the Mapping and Profiling projects, so essential for addressing this
issue.
In conclusion we would ask
the Commission to take cognisance of the important and pivotal role that widows
can play in the peace-building and reconstruction process in Iraq. We would
be happy to give a verbal submission to the Iraq Commission and answer any
further queries you may have.
Margaret
Owen
Chair
Widows for Peace through
Democracy
36 Faroe
Road, London W14
0EP
Tel/fax: 0207 603
9733
Mobile: 07770 945
916
Email: widowsforpeace@btinternet.com