WUNRN
Iraq – Protests over Tribal Re-Emergence of Fasliya, Blood Money/Compensation Marriages
Baghdad - Women took to
the streets of al-Mutanabbi Street in central Baghdad June
2, holding large banners denouncing fasliya marriage — the Arabic
word for marriages arranged as compensation, through which tribal
conflicts are resolved — which has surfaced in Iraq anew. The return of
this type of marriage comes as a result of a frail state and the predominance
of tribal values over social life, as well as the exacerbation of conflicts between Iraqi tribes in central and southern
areas.
Author Omar al-Jaffal
- June 18, 2015 – Translator - Steffi Chakti
Women
who have been placed in a fasliya marriage are not entitled to file
for divorce or separation because, according to tribal customs, they are
stripped away of any rights.
In
Basra in the south of Iraq, tribal disputes worsened with the spread of arms, leading to the death of many
civilians. Details on these incidents remain unknown because of the closed nature of tribes. In November 2014, these disputes
required the intervention of the Minister of Interior Mohammed
al-Ghabban, and the Basra governor, Majid al-Nasrawi,
to limit the spread of violence and encourage tribal chieftains to bring
the disputes to an end and abide by the law. In a related context, news spread
at the end of May 2015 about 50 women engaging in fasliya
marriages to settle a dispute between two conflicting tribes in
Basra, al-Shawi and al-Karamsha.
On June
2, media consultant for tribal affairs in Basra, Sheikh Mohammad al-Maryani,
denied the news and tried to make it sound less grave, saying in a
statement to al-Sumaria channel that a crisis broke out between two large
tribes in Basra over the death of a woman during an armed conflict between both tribes. Therefore, al-Shawi tribe
presented 10 women — not 50 as the media claimed according to al-Maryani —
to al-Karamsha tribe for fasliya. The two tribes refused to talk to the media
about the incident, claiming it was a personal affair.
At the
end of the 1950s, the Iraqi government issued a law forbidding
women to be given as blood compensation. The current lax situation and the
impotence of consecutive governments led to the return of the once demised tribal
customs that are practiced away from the state’s authority.
Iraqi
citizens, notably in the south and central areas, such as the provinces of
Basra, Maysan and Dhi Qar, now resort to tribes to resolve their
differences.
The
reappearance of fasliya marriage stirred denouncing reactions from clerics, civil society
organizations and civil activists, labeling the practice as violative of the
above-mentioned law that guarantees the rights of individuals, as well as of women's rights.
Safad
Abdelaziz, an activist with Protection and
Development of Iraqi Family Association, announced the
launching of a campaign titled “Unite to end settlement tribal laws against
women in Iraq.”
"This
campaign aims at distributing leaflets in schools, universities and markets to
raise social awareness, specifically among women, on the illegality of this
practice and the need to end it as it violates domestic and international human
rights laws. Representatives of this campaign also visited tribal sheikhs in
Diwaniyah and Dhi Qar to encourage them to denounce the practice. Sheikhs,
however, were not so fond of the ‘intrusive’ campaign, as they described it.
Some sheikhs even prohibited us from distributing the leaflets," Abdel
Aziz told Al-Monitor.
She
added that the association notes around 250 fasliya marriages in Iraq annually,
most of which are concentrated in central and southern provinces, such as
Basra, Diwaniyah, Babil and Maysan.
Yehya
al-Akili, a tribal sheikh in Baghdad, told Al-Monitor that fasliya marriages
were brought to an end in the 1970s as the state back then was able to limit
them, and then currently re-emerged because of the current state’s weak
influence.
"These
marriages are strictly practiced in rural areas. Tribes in urban settings, like
Baghdad, are far from restoring this practice. If the state remains as weak as
it is, the obsolete customs will make a comeback, as no one is guaranteeing the
rights of individuals, but tribes," Akili said.
The
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq (OHCHR) noted in a
statement on June 7 that there were 11 current
conflicts among tribes. These tribes could resort to the same
practice used by the two tribes in Basra. The conflict between the two
Basra tribes ended with a fasliya marriage, according to tribal customs.
Al-Monitor
was able to secure a copy of the statement in which OHCHR in Iraq called
on the government to put an end to these inhumane
practices against Iraqi women and to reinforce, train and raise
awareness of the police to play an effective role in settling tribal disputes.
A
religious rejection of such practice can contribute to its end. On June 5,
during a religious sermon in Karbala, the representative of the
Shiite religious authority in Karbala Sheikh Ahmad al-Safi denounced
the practice on moral and religious levels. "In any case, a girl should
not to be forced into marrying someone she does not want," he said.