WUNRN
ICAN - International Civil Society
Action Network for Women's Rights, Peace & Security
ICAN - Security, Religion & Gender in Al-Anbar Province,
Iraq: A Focus Group-Based Conflict Analysis
Direct Link to Full
5-Page 2014 Publication:
Al
Anbar Governorate
is the largest governorate in Iraq geographically.
Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi
Arabia. ...............................................................................................................................................
Gender & Rights:
Women have been
always among the first to feel the impact of conflict. A high percentage of
widows and forced/early marriage are some of the biggest problems, in addition
to divorce, unequal job opportunities, and limited involvement in politics.
Armed groups limit freedoms in women’s daily lives, restricting dress,
education and employment. For example, wearing of the hijab only started after
Al-Qaeda extended operations in Anbar in 2005-616. Thus, women typically prefer the protection of the
national army instead of armed groups, whereas men argue that it is religious
groups that limit women’s freedoms. However, one activist pointed out that it
is in fact the militia groups that limit women’s access to public space rather
than religious groups: "There are no statements by Sunni religious leaders
or… clerics intent on provoking honor killings… until now we had not received
any cases of honor killing in Anbar under religious justification, even though
it is a Muslim community."17
Women’s movements are weak,
unorganized and not united in Anbar due norms and culture – unrelated to
religious doctrine – that restrict freedom of movement for women. Women, other
than a limited number belonging to sectarian groups, rarely participate in
international or national events. According to one activist, these women also
avoid interacting with Shia women’s groups. Women are not active in the
provincial council, and are not even permitted in public demonstrations.
Another critical issue is forced or coerced marriage to Al-Qaeda members, which
cannot be legally registered in the courts since the men are considered
terrorists. As a consequence, both women and children are deprived of their
rights, leading children without other options to be recruited by terrorists.
The sense of dignity among men is a more public issue that involves the entire community; for women, dignity is linked to personal freedom. Research also showed that women are more focused on peace and freedom, whereas men have difficulty seeing beyond sectarian divisions. Such deeply entrenched sentiments greatly impact the way they engage in peace processes and in many cases, men in Anbar suffer indignity due to discriminatory policies. "We don’t want Shia security men protecting our Sunni society. It is preferable for us that Al-Qaida does it because they are Sunna and we don’t feel offended."18 These words reinforce the idea that manhood and masculinity is linked to security.
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Page 1 of 5-Page Document: Full
Text: http://www.icanpeacework.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Al-Anbar-Iraq-Conflict-Analysis-2014.pdf
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