WUNRN
IRAQ - GENDERING AUTHORITARIANISM
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Women in
The recent wave of violence and political tensions in
However, one of the ironies and paradoxes of the situation in
Clearly, a decade after the invasion, security - or rather the lack thereof
- is again on everyone’s mind in central and southern
Political participation
Politically, Iraqi women have very limited influence and power to
contribute to decision-making. To some extent, this is a direct consequence of
the re-emergence of political authoritarianism under Prime Minister Al-Maliki: all
political actors experience the systematic side-lining of political opposition,
the lack of rule of law and widespread political violence. However, women
are particularly marginalized in a context where they
are perceived as incapable of leading and strategizing, where social attitudes
have shifted towards more conservative gender norms, and where armed violence,
political intimidation, attacks on political opponents as well as rampant
corruption are shaping politics.
Whereas there were 6 female-headed ministries from 2005-2006, no
woman was appointed to a senior post in the new 44-member cabinet after the
2010 elections. Only two ministries of state were offered to women, one without
portfolio lost her position as part of Prime Minister Al-Maliki’s downsizing,
leaving only one female Minister: Ibtihal Al-Zaidi, who was appointed Minister
of State for Women’s Affairs. She herself stated that her Ministry: “has no jurisdiction
over the directorate of women’s welfare or increasing funds allocated to
widows". In fact, she argued "the Ministry is no more than an
executive-consultation bureau with a limited budget and no jurisdiction on
implementing resolutions or activities". Her predecessor, Nawal
al-Samaraie, resigned due to lack of jurisdiction and insufficient budget.
Women have not been involved in many of the important negotiations in
recent years, most recently to form a government coalition after the elections
in 2010. Many women who made it into the Council of Representatives have been
there to meet constitutional requirements, i.e. the stipulated quota of 25%,
which translated into 82 women out of 325 at the last elections. Most of
the women parliamentarians are often the wives, sisters or daughters of
male politicians eager to fill the required seats with women without having to
engage with wider issues of gender equality and women’s rights. Indeed, many
Iraqi women’s rights activists I spoke to over the last years bemoan the
phenomenon of female parliamentarians often being more interested in
expressing partisan views – frequently of an Islamist and sectarian hue –
instead of furthering the interests of Iraqi women.
It is important to stress that the situation in the Kurdistan Regional
Government area is slightly different for female parliamentarians and
politicians, given that they have been allowed to play a more active role in
shaping legislation and policy. Many Kurdish women’s rights activists, however,
also complained to me about tokenism and lack of proper consultation, in
addition to the small number of women in decision-making positions.
Women’s rights activism
Despite the systematic marginalization and side-lining of Iraqi women in
the official political institutions and processes, they have not merely
stood by but have mobilized at the level of formal civil society organizations,
social and political movements, as well as more informal community and interest
groups. Women activists have been at the forefront of a growing political
movement for democracy and human rights that, in line with current
protest movements in the region, asking for greater transparency and an end to
corruption and political authoritarianism. Many Iraqi women’s rights activists
realize that their struggle for greater gender equality and social justice
cannot be separated from the struggle against an emerging new dictatorship, the
re-militarization of society, corruption and nepotism.
Protest in Sulimaniya. Photo: Johnny Wichmann / Demotix
Women have participated in the protests on
Iraqi women’s rights organizations have also been at the forefront of
condemning the assassination of protesters, civil society activists and human
rights defenders over the past years. Most recently, women’s rights activists
and organizations joined the protest against the assassination of Jalal Dhiyab
in Basrah on 26 April 2013. Dhiyab was a prominent defender of human rights
with a special focus on the rights for full citizenship of black Iraqis. Prior
to this incident, Iraqi women’s organizations were instrumental in starting
initiatives to protect the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in
Meanwhile, mobilization around more specific women’s rights and
gender-based issues has mushroomed over the past decade, despite the many
challenges and threats to women’s rights activists. Women-led NGOs as well as
more informal community associations have been campaigning about women’s legal
rights, especially with reference to the unresolved dispute over the personal
status code (Article 41) - the set of laws governing marriage, divorce, child custody
and inheritance - as well as criminal laws that do not offer sufficient
protection against gender-based violence, particularly “honour-based
crimes”. Women’s rights activists have also been mobilizing against
domestic violence, trafficking, and honour-based crimes, providing shelters and
advice to victims. Given the humanitarian situation, most organizations are
also involved in welfare and charity work, providing income-generating
activities as well as training for women. Very few activists, however,
make a link between increased privatization and neo-liberal economic policies,
on the one hand, and the increase in women’s unemployment and the feminization
of poverty on the other.
Women’s empowerment and leadership initiatives, trainings and projects appear
to flourish in a context where many NGOs indiscriminately take funding from
international organizations, including USAID, the International Republican
Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). These
organisations actively pursue neo-liberal economic agendas with buzzwords such
as empowerment, entrepreneurship and leadership, but characteristically fail to
address the devastating impact of privatisation and underlying structural
inequalities. This is particularly evident in the Kurdish Regional
Government (KRG) controlled areas in which the invasion is still largely
perceived as liberation and not occupation. Women’s organisations in central
and southern
Looking forward
At the height of sectarian violence in
Acute violence in the form of car bombs and targeted assassinations, as
well as kidnapping, forced prostitution, trafficking and honour-based crimes
are only the tip of the iceberg of much deeper and widespread forms of
gender-based violence. Furthermore, there is a constant policing of women’s
involvement in public activities, employment, general behaviour within the home
and family, and dress code both by state and non-state actors.
While there is ample evidence of the negative impact of the occupation on
women’s lives in central and southern
Although currently glossed over and forgotten, women’s struggles and
challenges as women are closely tied to pervasive militarization and
communal politics. But it is also women activists themselves who
recognize that their struggle for increased equality and social justice as
women can not be separated from the wider struggle against authoritarianism,
sectarianism, corruption and nepotism.
Nadje Al-Ali is
Professor of Gender Studies at SOAS,