Competition, cooperation and resistance: women in the political field in Iraq

Abstract

This article does not attempt to be a 'women's chapter', discussing the complex social, legal, economic, cultural and political situation of Iraqi women. Rather, it focuses on women in the political field. The fall of the regime in 2003 paved the way for a radical restructuring of the political landscape in Iraq. Women were and are part of this process. As activists in parties, coalitions and women's groups, they support nationalist, religious and class-struggle agendas, on the one hand, and those of gender equality, on the other. Occasionally they combine both dimensions. This article outlines female political action, drawing attention to key issues as discussed in particular by secularist feminists. In so doing it refers to both old and new obstacles in the struggle against gender-based injustice.Much current research in Middle Eastern studies on women in conflict, war and post-conflict society is inspired by feminist scholars like Deniz Kandiyoti and Cynthia Cockburn. 1 Most attention is given to the case of the Palestinians and Israelis; only a few researchers are working on Iraq, 2 and they tend to discuss the role(s) of women with regard to transition and conflict resolution. 3 However, women do not only cooperate in pursuit of collective aims. Like men, they perform acts of competition in order to improve their individual position and status in a particular group or society at large. This is-as Pierre Bourdieu 1 Deniz Kandiyoti, ed., Women, Islam and the state (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1991). For women without a nationstate, see Shahrzad Mojab, ed., Women of a non-state nation: the Kurds (Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda, 2001); Deniz Kandiyoti, 'Between the hammer and the anvil: post-conflict reconstruction, Islam and women's rights',

Theorising women and war in Kurdistan: A feminist and critical perspective

“…In Iraqi Kurdistan, a recognisable women's movement emerged after the creation of the "safe haven", which was established by the coalition powers in 1991 following the First Gulf War, when Kurds gained an important degree of self-governance with some level of constitutional rights (Begikhani, 2005;Alinia, 2013). Women's activism was predominantly the domain of urban and middle-class women, who tried to improve the conditions of vulnerable women of rural and working-class backgrounds (Hardi, 2013: 49; see also Al-Ali, 2011;Fischer-Tahir, 2010;Mojab, 2009). One of the most important concerns of women activists was the rise of honour-based violence and "honour" killings (Begikhani, Gill and Hague, 2015;Alinia, 2013;Mojab, 2004).…”

Women’s activism in Iraqi Kurdistan: Achievements, shortcomings and obstacles

“…Between 1992 and 2003 they also benefitted from project-based funding by international NGOs. 14 After 2003 they took advantage of State Department funding which targeted specific issues (Mojab, 2007;Fischer-Tahir, 2010).…”

“…Pluralism has been one of the positive features of this movement such that no political orientation alone can take credit for or claim to represent it. Additionally, even though the majority of activists were urban and middle class and there was a social divide between them and those they represented (Mojab, 2009;Fischer-Tahir, 2010), women from across the social strata joined the process either through becoming directors or senior members of these women's organisations, 17 or through establishing their own organisations which concentrated on addressing their own specific needs. 18 This same pluralism, however, has been a barrier to progress.…”

“…In 2003, women activists in Kurdistan joined Iraqi women activists to promote gender equality (Al- Ali and Pratt, 2011;Mahmud, 2012). Despite opposition from Iraqi politicians and the Bush administration (Al- Ali and Pratt, 2006;Fischer-Tahir, 2010) they managed to establish a 25 per cent quota, securing participation in decision 31 Chrw Sabir, Snawbar Ismail, Runak Faraj and Nishtiman Kamal. 32 This directorate was established in 2007, after mass protests against the stoning to death of Du'a Khalil Aswad (whose murder was filmed and broadcast on Youtube).…”

Between Nationalism and Women's Rights: The Kurdish Women's Movement in Iraq

“…Women activists are well-represented in civil society organizations in urban areas and, to a lesser degree, in political parties. For the most part, these women are urban and middle class and do not necessarily represent the views or desires of rural and/or working class women (Mojab 2009;Fischer-Tahir 2010: 1391. Historically, and up to the present, the majority of Kurdish women's rights activists work within a secular framework.…”