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Iraq Trip Report Summary
By Nadine Hoffman
June 3-12, 2007
Sulaimaniya, Sirwan, Halabja, Rania and outlying villages
“In Baghdad, violence is happening outdoors, where everyone can see it. Here it is also happening, but behind closed doors.” – Talar, mobile library staff member
Iraqi Kurdistan is a complex region with a distinct culture from the Iraq’s Arab areas. Considered the most secure part of the country, Kurdistan has been branded “the other Iraq.” A strong cultural identity prevails throughout the region, with Kurdish instead of Iraqi flags flying and few Arabic speakers. In Sulaimaniya, one of Kurdistan’s main urban centers, new construction is ubiquitous – buildings are being erected in every corner of the city. In other ways, too, the city is thriving. Families crowd Freedom Park until late at night, with young people filling an outdoor roller rink, swaying to the beat of American pop songs. In the crowded bazaar, men and women in all manner of dress jostle against each other as they shop – men in Western style clothes, men dressed as peshmerga; women in jeans or skirts, women veiled and occasionally, women in full burqa. It is a growing city nestled in between mountains, and the rugged landscape reveals the meaning of the often-used phrase of the Kurds, “no friends but the mountains.” A sense of freedom exists here in stark contrast to Baghdad – people crowd the streets, picnic in lush parks, and have no curfews – yet women say they lack real freedom because of deeply-rooted traditional ideas about their role in society. Women are active in public life, particularly in the non-profit/civil society development sector, but regarding their personal lives, many families continue to exert control over dating and other social activities.
For all Kurds, in spite of relative peace and prosperity in the short term, the future is riddled with uncertainties. “No one knows about the future,” mobile library project coordinator Awat Hamarash says. “But we know it will be very bad.”
Development Trends: Economic vs. Social Progress
Economic progress is changing the face of Iraqi Kurdistan. Yet, many people complain that social progress is lagging far behind. In a recent editorial, Denise Natali, a professor at the University of Kurdistan-Hawler (Erbil), “Myths of Modernizing Kurdistan,” writes, “the problem with modernization processes in the Kurdistan region, like most programs in the developing world, is that they emphasize rapid industrial and technological change without corresponding reforms in political institutions and social attitudes. What has emerged is a strengthening of conservative groups and ideas, and new tensions between reformers and those seeking to preserve traditional power structures.”
Natali continues:
“To be sure, since 2003, with the tenfold increase in the Kurdistan regional budget from Baghdad, the KRG has focused on privatizing the economy, attracting foreign investment, and rehabilitating the infrastructure. Using Dubai as a model of economic growth and development, it has invested in new highways, high-rise apartments, telecommunications networks, and modern supermarkets, which also reflect a change in consumer tastes and a shift toward modern ways of living.”
…“Yet, despite these efforts, the Kurdish elite have not implemented social reforms that could have created the attitudinal changes necessary to sustain modernization. Urbanization trends and new forms of wealth have not only created more secularized and literate populations in the cities, but rather, a strengthening of traditional customs alongside modern values.”
Natali’s words rang true in my own observations. Sulaimaniya has a new bowling alley (with a Western style coffee bar), two modern supermarkets (one of them boasting the first escalator in town) and construction is well underway on a luxurious five-star hotel (another first). Yet, this economic boom, fueled by Iranian and Turkish investments, does not reflect the whole story. Frequent news stories report Kurdish women being killed – even in the cities – for “honor.” During my trip I heard reports of a woman killed in Erbil at the hands of her father, while she kissed his feet and begged for his mercy. Little girls are circumcised without regard for their health. An English-language newspaper, Zhyanawa, reported on one girl, Choman, who almost bled to death after being circumcised by a woman who has done the procedure on 10,000 by her own estimate, for a fee of 75 cents.
Rise in conservative social trends
Not all Kurdish people have the “honor” mentality, but it is a big problem, local project partners explained. In the 1970s, Awat Hamarash says, women like his mother wore short skirts, but gradually they covered up. There are many factors involved in the increase in conservative social attitudes, including, notably, Saddam’s Anfal campaign. By systematically destroying Kurdish villages and forcing rural Kurds into the cities, he indirectly imposed old tribal ideas on more modern urban communities. Simultaneously, Islamic groups, like Ansar al-Islam, increased their presence and introduced regressive ideas, preying on uneducated villagers and meshing religious fundamentalism with existing cultural practices. According to those I met during the trip, these groups have maintained a well known underground presence, in spite of being driven out following the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
In Mosul, threats by such groups have been issued against anyone who works with the U.S. As has been reported by the New York Times and other international media agencies, thousands of Kurds have been driven out of Mosul in recent months.
Legal reforms
During the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam issued a decree that any woman who was unfaithful to her husband must be murdered. The new law, Article 59, which criminalized honor killings, has not been effectively enforced. The legal system in Iraq still reflects some old laws from Saddam’s regime and some new laws, but bad legislation is a major problem. The old laws allow for human rights abuses, such as sentencing children to jail time (up to five years) for stealing. This year, civil society groups have pressured the Kurdistan Regional Government to make legal reforms, a process which is ongoing. Currently the KRG is debating a law banning polygamy (Article 61). In addition, abuse of the law by “VIPs” is not adequately prosecuted – for instance, government officials have reportedly been implicated in honor killings and polygamy, but have gone unpunished.
Economic Problems
In spite of rapid economic growth, the steadily increasing cost of living is a major problem in Iraq’s Kurdish region. Rising gas prices are cited by Sulaimaniya residents as a major problem. The poor quality of petrol provided by the government has led many to fill their tanks at makeshift roadside huts, where vendors sell Iranian gas out of old plastic jugs. In addition, government supplied electricity is available only eight hours a day in Sulaimaniya. For a small office, the generator bill can run $3,000 a month. The cost has increased as gas prices rise. In Baghdad, the situation is much worse. According to a French embassy employee I met in Sulaimaniya, generators are now required 23 hours a day.
Housing prices are also rising as internally displaced families from the south settle in the relatively stable cities of the Kurdish north, with rents topping $1,000 a month. One family I met that had come from Baghdad was renting a house for $250, and even this was stretching their meager budget - $1,000 is out of reach for all but the wealthiest residents. The job market, like the housing market cannot keep pace with the influx of IDPs, many complain. Tensions between Kurds and Arabs settling in the Kurdistan region are likely to grow due to the substantial strain on the economy.
Halabja & Rania
The mobile library staff took me to Halabja, the site of Saddam’s infamous 1988 chemical attacks that were part of his brutal campaign to control and eradicate the Kurds. This area was controlled by Ansar al Islam until 2003 and almost every woman is covered. The Halabja monument memorializing the chemical attacks was burnt last year by protesters - angry that their town has become a symbol of Kurdish oppression, yet governments (their own and others) have made countless empty promises to provide basic services. As we drive through the town, I see that it is still largely destroyed from the damage done 20 years ago. Rubble, ruined streets, and poisoned water remain, telling a story of intense suffering. The reasons for public outrage about the poor conditions are clear. Many residents face health problems related to the chemicals, but there is no clinic that specializes in the most frequently encountered disease - cancer. They must go to Iran for treatment. Money that has been given for reconstruction has been used to build houses, which are mostly inhabited by government officials, and a school – on ground deemed dangerously contaminated. KRG officials have acknowledged the need to deliver basic services after years of negligence; KRG U.S. Representative Qubad Talabany recently spoke candidly about the government’s failures and the need to immediately commit resources to Halabja.
The women’s cross-cultural publications staff took me to Rania, north of Sulaimaniya, also near the Iranian border. Rania is a fairly large town, but appeared to be as conservative as the small villages I visited - all the women were covered in burqas or some variation thereof – and some people seemed to regard me with hostility rather than curiosity. The women I traveled with were not covered and neither was I – we undeniably stood out. We drove out of town, up a steep gorge on a dirt track which was barely passable by our four wheel drive truck. After a long bumpy ride we reached a tiny village carved into the side of a mountain. The women of the village gathered on the floor of someone's one-room house to talk. Almost all of the girls here have been promised in marriage as babies or children - and they are all "circumcised." One mother we talked with was married before her first period. A young girl explained that her mother committed suicide through self immolation. Gula, a teenage girl wearing a red dress, is perhaps the saddest one we met. Her uncle promised her to a much older man but she was horrified of going to live with him - she cried quietly as she told us her choices - either her uncle reimburses the man for her bride price and he will divorce her, or she must leave her family and enter into the marriage. The resolution, it is clear, will not be a good one for her.
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