WUNRN
Iraq -To Veil or Not to Veil: Iraqi Women
Face Scrutiny over Choices
By Adnan Abu Zeed - August 24, 2015
BAGHDAD — The Najaf Nationality
Directorate, south of Baghdad, refused to grant a travel
permit to civil activist and Iraqi citizen Intisar Alyawi al-Mayali July 5
because she appeared unveiled in the photo attached to her
passport. This incident sparked outrage and highlighted once again
the conflict between secularists and the conservative current typified
by Islamist groups.
Civil activist Intisar Yassin commented on the incident
to Al-Monitor, “Not granting an unveiled woman a passport is a violation
of human rights by a staff member who ignores the law and constitution
when processing the citizens’ files.”
One of the main conflicts between
secularists and Islamists revolves around the civil and intellectual identity
of Iraqi women. There is an enormous contrast in stances
on women’s rights in Iraq. Although secularists point out that the
Iraqi Constitution guarantees
the civil rights of all citizens, Islamists have no
trouble finding religious, social and moral pretexts to justify their
viewpoint and actions. This conflict clearly reveals the political balance of
power tipping to the Islamists’ side.
Secularists made up a large group of
the civilians who protested Aug. 7 all over Iraq, calling for reform.
Sadr al-Din al-Qabbanji, the Friday prayer imam
of Najaf, accused the protesters of waging “a campaign to return
to secular rule in Iraq and a quest to topple political Islam.”
The skirmishes between Islamists and secularists
did not arise overnight. They have a long history and have become a part of
daily life in Iraq, where unveiled women are not rare. They are harassed and pressured
to wear the veil that is part of traditional Islamic dress.
In 2012, banners forbidding unveiled women from
entering the “holy” town were raised in the streets of Baghdad
neighborhood Kadhimiya.
On Feb. 9, 2013, Iraqis organized a beauty festival that brought together specialists
in the fields of makeup, hairdressing and fashion. These professionals showcased
their talent on a small number of female participants, while many spectators
came to observe the event. One of the festival’s organizers, Nadia Hamza Fouad, told
Agence France-Presse, “This activity [was] the first of its kind after the 2003
incidents. It is the first step to success.”
In Islam, “tabarruj” refers to a woman displaying her
beauty outside of the home. On Sept. 17, 2014, the Ministry of Education forbade girls from
committing tabarruj and imposed a conservative dress code on
them that called for loose-fitting clothing.
The editor of the family and society page of
Al-Sabah newspaper, Qasim Mozan, told
Al-Monitor that refusing an unveiled woman a travel permit is a regressive
move and a violation of their legal rights.
Meanwhile, Shaymaa al-Fatlawi, a member of the
education committee of the Dhi Qar Provincial Council, called on the
Minister of Education Mohammed Iqbal April 9 to “forbid tabarruj for
schoolgirls since it contradicts the divine teachings, traditions and norms
that children in Iraqi society have been brought up on.”
Iqbal responded to this proposal on April 11
by banning girls in Iraqi schools from
wearing “indecent” clothes and other forms of tabarruj.
On Jan. 19, 2014, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
replied to an inquiry made by an Iraqi university student, seeking his opinion
on the phenomenon of tabarruj in colleges and institutes. In a response
published in various media outlets, Sistani said, “A woman’s spirit is not
reflected in her tabarruj and ornaments, rather in her chastity and
conservative appearance before other people.”
This statement by Iraq’s highest Shiite
religious authority is widely considered an order that cannot be
misinterpreted or contested. It is in line with the strict orders of the
different religious authorities, such as Muhammad al-Sadr, who have all stated the
necessity of wearing the veil. As a result, more women have agreed to
wear the veil and niqab, a clear indication that
religion and conservative thought are spreading in Iraqi cities for
both Shiites and Sunnis.
In this conservative environment, “It has
become commonplace to advise unveiled women to wear the veil,” said Najaf
teacher Suha al-Tarihi, who chooses not to. “If they do not comply,
sometimes this advice then becomes coercion to wear the veil. Some teachers in
Najaf have been forced by the school administrations to wear the veil,” she
told Al-Monitor.
Journalist Estabraq Ali agreed, telling
Al-Monitor, “Some people exploit the country’s democratic system. They think
they can interfere in the privacy of individuals and pressure them to
adopt different points of view.”
Student Nada Jawad from Babil told
Al-Monitor, “Most female students in Babil University are veiled, and the
conservative environment does not allow them to remove their veil.
The situation was different in the late 1940s, when Iraq organized
the first beauty pageant in Baghdad,”
Jawad said.
While journalist and poet Nital Meshkoor, who identifies as a
secularist, believes “Iraqi women have been deprived of their rights,”
Haifa al-Mousawi, a veiled woman who spoke to Al-Monitor, said,
“The happy Muslim woman is the veiled one who abides by the teachings of Islam.
This image should be generalized in society to become a role model for other
women.”
Whether opting for the veil or not, women are entitled to make their own decisions. But when social or religious forces meddle in women’s choices, this represents a huge problem.