WUNRN
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/17/isis-orders-women-iraq-syria-veils-gloves
ISLAMIC STATE HAS IMPOSED
STRICT DRESS & BEHAVIOR RULES FOR WOMEN IN AREAS ISIS CONTROLS IN IRAQ
& SYRIA
Those not complying may be given fines and punishments.
Veiled women sit on a bench in Raqqa in March last
year. Women are now instructed to wear double-layered veils, loose abayas and
gloves. Photograph: Reuters
By Mona
Mahmood
Tuesday 17 February 2015 - Women living under Islamic
State’s control in Iraq and Syria are facing increasingly harsh restrictions
on movement and dress, which are rigorously enforced by religious police and
are leading to resentment and despair among moderate Muslims.
Residents of Mosul, Raqqa and Deir el-Zour have told
the Guardian in interviews conducted by phone and Skype that women are forced
to be accompanied by a male guardian, known as a mahram, at all times,
and are compelled to wear double-layered veils, loose abayas and gloves.
Their testimonies follow the publication this month of an Isis “manifesto”
to clarify the “realities of life and the hallowed existence of women in the
Islamic State”. It said that girls could be married from the age of nine, and
that women should only leave the house in exceptional circumstances and should
remain “hidden and veiled”.
A veiled woman walks past a billboard urging women to
wear a hijab. Photograph: Reuters
Sama Maher, 20, a resident of Raqqa who has been
detained several times by Isis religious police, known as Hisbah, for violating
Isis rules, said: “It is prohibited for a woman in Raqqa or Deir el-Zour to
move anywhere outside without a mahram, a male guardian. It is a big
problem as I do not have any, we are only five sisters.”
Isis has closed universities in areas under its
control, she added. “I had to quit my university studies in Aleppo because I’m
not allowed to cross the checkpoints without a mahram and leave the city
by myself like before.”
Male guardians are subject to punishment if women are
not complying with the prescribed dress code. In Mosul, Isis published a
charter within weeks of taking taking control of the city, restricting women’s
movements and imposing dress requirements. Women
were instructed to wear a Saudi-style black veil of two layers to conceal their
eyes and a loose robe designed by Isis after it said some abayas revealed body
outlines.
Many women initially objected to the Isis order but
complied when they realised they could be beaten, humiliated and fined, and
their husbands might be punished. Men are now forcing their wives and daughters
to stay at home to avoid confrontations with Hisbah, which issues orders via
the internet or by posting written statements at shops warning against
violations of Islamic rules in the city.
“They forced women of all ages to wear a veil, even
though the majority of the women in Mosul wear a hijab,” paediatrician Maha
Saleh, 36, said. “The Hisbah would hit a woman on her head with a stick if she
was not wearing a veil.
“At the beginning, some female doctors refused to wear
veils and went on a strike by staying at home. Hisbah took ambulances and went
to their houses and brought them by force to the hospital. One of my colleagues
was alone in her clinic in the hospital and thought it was all right to strip
off her veil. All of a sudden, two Hisbah broke in her room and reproached her
for not wearing the veil and warned her not to do that again.”
In Raqqa, the Isis “capital” in Syria, women were
initially ordered to wear a black abaya covering the entire body. Soon after, a
command to wear a veil was issued, then a third ordered a shield on top of the
abaya. Women are also instructed to wear only black, including gloves and
shoes. Isis subsequently ordered women to hide their eyes, requiring a a
double-layered veil.
I was shocked to see that women in labour were denied
access to the hospital unless they put veils on
Mosul resident Sabah Nadiem said: “I went once with my
wife to one of the old souqs to do some shopping, and after a short while I
lost her among the crowd. The problem was that all the women were wearing veils
and it was hard to know who was my wife. I was utterly scared to make a mistake
and go for the wrong woman. It would be a disaster to fall into Hisbah hands. I
could not even use my mobile as the network was down.” Nadiem said he called
out his wife’s name loudly in the souq until she heard him and they were
reunited.
Hisbah patrols tour Isis-controlled cities to ensure
that women and men are behaving in accordance with Islamic rules. If they spot
a woman in the street not wearing a shield or gloves, sometimes they offer her
“Islamic dress” with a pair of gloves and advise her not to go out again
without them, or they take her to Hisbah headquarters and keep her there until
her mahram arrives. The mahram may be fined or could be subjected
to lashes.
Children are not exempt from strict dress codes. When
schools opened in Mosul last October, Samar Hadi, a mother of five, sent her
two daughters – Hala, six, and Tiba, seven, – to school without a hijab, as she
had the year before.
“After two days, the headmistress told them that they
all have to wear the hijab when they come to school. So I made them wear the
hijab. Then an Isis order came to stipulate that only girls in 4th, 5th and 6th
class in primary school have to wear hijab, not 1st and 2nd classes.”
In Deir el-Zour in Syria, the rules for female pupils
and students appear to be stricter. “Little girls in primary schools have to
wear an abaya until the 4th class, when they have to wear a veil too,” said
Sali Issam, 15, a secondary school student. “Though all the teachers in girls’
schools are female, neither students nor teachers are allowed to lift the veil
of their faces inside the classroom.”
Many families stopped sending their children to school
after recent air strikes by the Syrian regime army, she added. “Families are
scared of Hisbah and Assad’s warplanes.”
Women in labour in maternity hospitals in Mosul are
forced to comply with dress codes. “When I was in labour, I went to the
hospital wearing a veil though it was too hot. Isis Hisbah were at the front
door of the hospital. I saw some women in labour who seemed to be in a panic and
did not have time to wear a veil. I was shocked to see that they were denied
access to the hospital unless they put veils on their faces,” said Salah.
Women over the age of 45 are exempted from the order
to wear the veil, but often find themselves in difficulty. On a routine trip to
Mosul University where she teaches, Saleh shared a taxi with an older woman who
was not wearing a veil. “The taxi driver turned to the woman and said: ‘Why are
not you wearing a veil?’ She told him that Isis said the veil was imposed on
women who are less than 45. The driver answered: ‘I’m afraid if I have you in
my car, Isis Hisbah will stop me at a checkpoint and fine me.’”
Buses are also stopped for passengers to be checked.
If a woman is found without required dress or mahram, all passengers are
forced to disembark and the bus is refused permission to proceed. “If Hisbah
spot a woman without a mahram in a bus, the whole bus is evacuated and
sent back because the driver accepted her,” said Maher.
In Mosul, single women are not allowed to be the last
passenger on a bus, alone with the driver. Women are forced to get off buses
before their destination if there are no other passengers present. Bassma Adel,
35, who works in a bank, had to get off a bus to avoid being alone with the driver
even though she was not near her home.
I was fined $1,500 and got 10 lashes on the bottom of
my feet
“I had to walk to my house though the distance was
long in inclement weather. One of my male colleagues passed by his car and
offered to give me a lift. We drove for a short distance before we were spotted
by Hisbah. They asked us for a document that proves my colleague was a mahram
to me. When we failed to do that, they reproached us for being together in the
car and humiliated us and ordered me to step down.”
Hospitals in Raqqa are almost empty of female doctors,
according to residents. The few female nurses are forbidden from lifting their
veils or wearing anything but Islamic dress. All woman visiting doctors must be
accompanied by a mahram, who has to wait outside the clinic. If Hisbah
discovers a man inside a clinic, he will be arrested. A woman is permitted to
be checked by a male doctor but is not allowed to lift her veil during
examination.
Recently Isis ordered all female hairdressers to be shut
down in Mosul. Samah Nasir, 43, had her own hairdressing shop for more than
nine years – the only source of income for her three children as her husband is
ill and unable to work. “I decided to reopen my shop despite the Isis embargo
because I had nothing to feed my children and pay for my husband’s
medications.”
Shortly after, Hisbah broke in her house and took her
and her husband to a sharia court. “The judge ruled that I should pay $1,500
[£977] as a fine and get 10 lashes on the bottom of my feet in one of the rooms
in the sharia court. I have not been in such a situation all my life.” Now
Nasir rarely leaves her house.