Dr. Lynn Rose Interviews AUIS' Gender Minors

In this interview, four students: Ms. Tara Mohammed, Ms. Raz Hayder, Mr Zhira Bazaaz, and Ms. Nishtiman Awsman—were invited to talk about their experiences taking the gender minor. They touched upon their motivations for doing the minor, the central “take-home message” from their classes, and possible backlash they received by taking the minor or talking about feminism. Additionally, they offered their reflections on how potential employers and graduate school admission committees might perceive the minor. 

The Gender Minor is interdisciplinary and consists of eight courses, from which students choose five. Spread across three departments: English, Math and Sciences, and Social Sciences, they range chronologically from ancient Greek to the present, and in subject matter from health science to literature to religious studies. At the time of the interview fifteen students have declared the minor, which the first students completed in the spring of 2020. Students come from a variety of majors, and reflect a male female ratio of 1:3.

Dr. Choman Hardi Interview with Aryen Tv

This interview consisted of multiple guests. Next to Dr. Choman Hardi was Awat Mohamad, writer and activist, and Aras Galawezh, an activist for equal rights.

Awas starts with pointing out how the role of women progressed in history. Elaborating on how women now participate in the current societal and legal institutions, he gives credit to the support women’s organizations have provided that enabled this advancement. However, he considers it crucial to remember that we still find ourselves in a beginning stage regarding women’s presence in society. This is underlined by the community’s hesitation to encourage women and their advancement.

Dr. Choman Hardi continues by discussing how the effects of a patriarchal society are revealed once the patriarchal system is threatened. By standing up against patriarchy, both as women and as a society, the chances of domestic violence and gender based violence might increase. In this way, the system attempts to remain in control. Dr. Hardi furthermore elaborates on the different perceptions and misconceptions of gender. For instance, gender is sometimes misperceived as a factor that destroys marriages, or as a concept that is all about loose sexual behaviour in society. Finally, she emphasizes how to understand gender as a social construct, explaining that like the ‘sex’ of a person pertains to binary biological differences, the ‘gender’ of a person describes the social characteristics of ‘men’ and ‘women’.

Aras Galawezh stressed the importance of highlighting who the victims are within this patriarchal system. As he pointed out, men are the victims who are shaped by society to stand against a community in which women have equal roles.

Collectively the participants highlighted how governmental institutions, religious institutions, and society at large should encourage equal rights whenever and wherever possible. Through their influence in society, religious figures and institutions can impact the way in which equality is perceived. Governmental institutions can advocate for female politicians and women’s rights. Society at large should stand for ending the inequality between men and women, and refuse to further the divide.

Poppe’s book, ‘Girl, World’, was named a 35 Over 35 Debut Book Award winner, First Horizon Award finalist, Montaigne Medal finalist, was short-listed for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize, and was awarded an Honorable Mention in General Fiction from the Eric Hoffer Awards. In addition, her short fiction has been a finalist for Glimmer Train’s Family Matters contest, a nominee for the Pushcart Prize and commended for the Baker Prize, among others. Her non-fiction was named a Best of the Net nominee (2016), a finalist for Hot Metal Bridge's Social Justice Writing contest and has appeared in Bust and Bella Caledonia along with others. At the moment, she is working on her third book of fiction with support from Can Serrat International Art Residency and Duplo-Linea De Costa Artist in Residency programs.

Ms. Alex spoke about gender and writing in general, and about how gender has interacted with and shaped her writing process. Additionally, she addressed how the female characters in her fiction get heard, despite the fact that women often get ignored and interrupted, their words discredited. Alex’s stories are immediate and often gritty. The description on Amazon.com for her most recent novel is the following: “Jax, a magazine model, has had half her face destroyed in a bomb blast. Drowning in whiskey and self-loathing, she must rebuild her life now that her beauty is gone. Part love letter to New York, part social justice commentary, Moxie is a timely and raw portrayal of the sometimes self-destructive search for identity and redemption.” Jax is on both sides of the spectrum: a sort of airy—if not vapid—pretty-girl teenager, as seen in her diary entries, and a very astute, strong-spoken—if not foul mouthed—woman. Of course her situation (being a model, surviving a bomb blast in Morocco) is atypical.

Following from here, Poppe discussed the rites of passage that take us from girls to women. She went on to talk about her third book and about her nonfiction work, after which the conversation turned to the value of fiction in advancing social justice.

In this podcast, the production of which is funded by a generous EU grant, Dr. Choman Hardi, CGDS Director, and Mr. Rasti Ranj, LSE Hub Regional Manager, interview Dr. Najat Mohammad Faraj, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Sulaimani and the Director of the first gender center in Kurdistan. In this interview, speakers review their experiences with establishing the first gender center. Both directors discuss how the process of opening these centers developed, and what impacts, obstacles, and misconceptions they faced.

Dr. Najat mentions that she was approached in the Autumn of 2010 by the president of the University of Sulaimani with the idea of a gender center. The center was originally named “Center for Gender Studies and Gender Based Violence”. A protocol was signed between the University of Sulaimani and the University of Bristol, with the support of the British Council and others, to set up the center.

After opening the center, she faced various obstacles and difficulties. Her own peers did not take her seriously; some even disregarded her and told her that they did not believe in such ideologies. Regardless, she mentions there were three colleagues, being Dr. Payman Abdulqadir Majid, Dr. Niyan Namiq Sadiq, and Dr. Jwan Baxtyar Bahadin, who decided to help her with the project. Another obstacle were the misconceptions that surrounded the concept of gender. Dr. Najat recalls how the male faculty would pass by and look away in discomfort. Gender itself was a concept that was misconstrued. It was regarded by society as women’s sexuality, homosexuality, and promiscuity.

Dr. Choman Hardi discusses her experience with opening the Center for Gender and Development Studies, CGDS, at AUIS. She says that unlike Dr. Najat Mohammad, the American University of Iraq (its employees, faculty, and others) were very supportive of the idea. One barrier Dr. Choman did face, however, was that she did not have any funds. Another obstacle was the stigma surrounding the gender classes that Dr. Choman would teach and had taught in the past.

The interview concludes by answering common questions regarding gender and CGDS. The questions included: Why are all feminists angry and agitated? Do feminists hate men? Can feminists only be women? Will being a feminist have an effect on my career? How influential are funds (such as CGDS’s EU fund) in raising awareness about these topics and having discussions that impact society’s original perspective?

Dr. Akeel Abbas' interview with 'Nawa Radio Station'

In this interview, speakers discuss the history and chronology of women’s rights in Iraq.

One event that can be considered a starting point of encouraging women’s rights in Iraq, is in 1910 by the famous Iraqi poet Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi. At that time he wrote an article in the newspaper ‘Al-Moayed’, under the title “Woman & her defense”. The article became a motivation for any woman to get out of the house and take off her veil, revealing her face. The article led to a huge outcry in Baghdad, regarding it as a call for breaking Islamic and Arab values. As a result, Al-Zahawi was fired from the law school where he worked.

Poets such as Al-Zahawi, but also Maruf Al-Rasafi and others, called for enlightenment and liberation. The liberation they were calling for consisted of three things: 1. Removal of the veil 2. For women to attend school and get educated 3. For women to live beyond the boundaries of their houses.

Following the above, another figure, Husain al-Rahal, took the debate of women’s rights even further. His father was an officer in the Ottoman army and as such al-Rahal had lived in Germany for years. Living abroad aided Al-Rahal with an adaptable and open mentality. He opened the first Marxicist cell (GROUP) in Iraq. Additionally, he called for particular human rights with regards to women that were not proposed before: he asked for the financial independence of women. It would allow them to become active, productive and participatory individuals of society. In Iraq, this issue had neither been discussed nor considered before.

These three figures were part of a first generation of people who encouraged and supported women’s rights, and had few supporters. More so, the first generation of women’s rights supporters are usually men, as they have more access to power within society and are allowed an education. At that time, women nonetheless actively participated in this movement, although the majority of them did not know what their rights were, or how to ask for them. It can be argued that the first generation of women’s rights supporters often had a small group of believers and a large group of opponents. This dynamic is not limited to Iraq, but also applies to other communities around the world: some of which include Western and Middle Eastern communities such as in Lebanon, Syria, the United States, and many others.

The ideas that were held by these three men caused various conflicts. After the establishment of the Iraqi government, the encouragement of female education led to a division of Iraqi society into two groups. Back in the twenties, the Iraqi government opened around 36-38 schools which were only for men. The government’s call to let women join these schools resulted in a tremendous disturbance. Some civilians would attack women with stones if they saw them going to school. Although the majority of people, specifically religious figures, were against the education of women, support was still prevalent in the country. The conflicts between the opposing sides continued within the twentieth century and ended with a victory for women and their supporters. Consequently, it allowed for many women like Amina Al-Rahal, who was the first woman to become a lawyer and drive a car in the thirties, to emerge.

Finally, multiple associations emerged, particularly in Baghdad, to support women’s rights. This coincided with many Iraqi men travelling to Syria and Lebanon and marrying Lebanese and Syrian women, who were more open minded and liberal than Iraqi women. These marriages encouraged men to accept the idea of women’s rights, freedom, and individuality. At that time, Iraq needed teachers, doctors, and other employees from Syria and Lebanon to work in the country. The arrival of these employees further altered the mindset of Iraqi Society.

Credit: Summarized and translated Lubna Ghazi. 

Dr. Choman Hardi talks to Voice Of America about gender inequality

The podcast began by discussing the differences between gender equality and gender superiority. The latter tends to be a common misconception among the community. The promotion of equality is often perceived by society as the replacement of the patriarchal system with a matriarchal one. In reality, the goal is not to achieve superior roles for women but to provide equal opportunity. Nonetheless, the patriarchal system negatively affects men as it does women. For instance, men are expected to provide for their family (as symbolized in marriage ceremonies where the groom is required to buy a certain amount of gold for the bride). Another example is that it is not socially acceptable for men to show emotions other than anger. The discussion emphasized the importance of overcoming a patriarchal society and giving the other half of the community a voice.

Dr. Hardi stated that the feminist movement in Kurdistan is currently facing difficulties, being in a system that is often in opposition to women. The very structure of society, with the inclusion of all its aspects, must change in order to make a difference. She has been working in Kurdistan for the past five years, during which immense progress has been made in regards to gender equality. This progress is often used as an excuse by conservative and/or religious parties to limit further development.

Dr. Hardi explains that inequality exists due to a lack of alternative perspectives. Men can defend equality and be feminists but they can never fully understand the struggles women face. Women are denied the opportunities and respect men are handed, making it difficult to communicate about these issues. The number of female representatives in the government is directly proportional to the difference they can make. So far, women have always been the minority in the government, but if we want to alter the system, more forces are essential. It is important not to allow new forms of patriarchy to surface due to technological advances and the accessibility to social media platforms. Prior to the 1991 revolutions, laws were not as in favor of equality as they are now.

The role of NGOs in Kurdistan is another misconception she discusses. Their purpose is to fill the gaps that the government left, which does not imply that they are substitutes for governmental action. For example, women who face violence can seek shelter and aid. However, legal protection and security, as well as job opportunities in order to develop financial independence, are supposed to be the government’s job. Unfortunately, violence against women has been normalized by some parts of society. It has even encouraged murder as a demonstration of masculinity and defense of a male’s honor.

Historically, there have been examples of the marginalization of women within Kurdish literature: the poet Qani’ had a sister who often surpassed him artistically. Dr. Hardi elaborates on this occurrence. Qani’s family provided superior attention to him as opposed to his sister, giving him pens and notebooks in which he could write poems, whereas his sister would write the poems on the scraps of paper that he’d thrown away. Only one of his sister’s poems survived, which is the one she had woven into a carpet with her own hands. Dr. Hardi concludes the interview by restating the importance of art in communicating the emotional factors of gender inequality. Although the hardships are unexplainable, through art we can begin to understand the reasons behind why these movements exist.

Summarized and translated by: Naivan Sartip AbdulRahman

Dr. Akeel Abbas interview with Ruaa Khaala

Dr. Akeel Abbas interviews Ms. Ruaa Khalaf, feminist and activist. Having finished a Bachelor's degree in Cooling System Technology, in addition to pursuing another degree in Business Administration (Financial Accounting), Ruaa sees herself as an independent and strong woman. She believes there are no specific jobs for women or men. Men can work the same jobs as women, and vice versa.

She believes that women are underrepresented in Parliament, in the wider government, and even in international NGOs. Most decision making goes through men. In Iraq women are seen as fragile, weak and in need of protection. Even as an activist and advocate for women rights, she faced extreme difficulty getting suggested laws regarding women passed through the parliament.

Furthermore, she points out that even with the 25% quota for female representation in parliament, they are affiliated and involved with political parties. This has far reaching implications, such as these parties constituting a 90% male decision making ratio. Thus, women in parliament have no real power to support other women in society. She recounts a particular case where a female member of parliament once asked to have the law, obliging a husband to get consent in court from his first wife to be able to marry a second wife, lifted.

As an activist Khalaf has been participating in demonstrations since 2015, including the protests of the 1st of October 2019, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad. The protests of October were predominantly attended by men. She mentioned that only 7 girls were present at the beginning of the protests. She nonetheless played a prominent role in logistical support during the demonstrations: by fundraising, gathering people, and helping and guiding injured people in the medical units. She also points out that not many women stayed the night at demonstration sites, only few and all of them were old, not young; the mother of a martyr or related to someone in the protests or the bakers. Women never faced harassment in the demonstrations because the general atmosphere never allowed that, thus none dared. Men treated women as equal and as sisters. The participation of women in the protests advanced the cause of keeping the demonstrations peaceful.

She concludes by stating that the participation of women in the demonstrations was a turning point for many women in Baghdad, and across Iraq. People began looking up to Khalaf, respecting her for her participation and role. Various marches began through being led by women.

Dr. Lynn Rose and Shko Shwan talk to XFM about feminism

The main theme of this podcast is feminism: how feminism should be defined, its misconceptions, and how it has initially been perceived within society. The guests on the podcast are: Dr. Andrea Zittlau, teacher at the University of Rostock, Germany, mr. Rezhyar Fakhir, an advocate for peace who has held several workshops through the Christian Peacemaker Team, Dr. Lynn Rose, who is a professor of the Social Sciences at AUIS and Deputy Director at CGDS, and mr. Shko Shwan who began as CGDS’ co-ordinator and is currently the project manager for the EU project.

The interview starts with discussing how feminism should be defined, as it gets highly misunderstood by the majority of both men and women in society. Dr. Lynn Rose argues that feminism could be defined in several ways, thus there is not a singular definition that one can refer back to. Kosha Hussein mentions that men in Kurdistan have a lot of privileges that women do not have. Unfortunately, men are not even aware of these privileges, as they fail to perceive the situation from a woman's perspective.

Mr. Shko Shwan explains that misconceptions about feminism are common in many cultures. Some of these misconceptions include people believing that feminism is specifically a women’s issue. Consequently, in certain cultures, when males actually speak up for women’s rights, they are ostracized. They are also thought of as individuals who help women in overruling men. Mr. Rezhyar Fakhir, a social activist, says that when talking about feminism there should be no regard to where its ideas originate. Feminism should be perceived as a global ideology, where there are unified goals and no distinctions. He adds that the process of supporting women should be based on a partnership, where women and men collaborate to dispose of male dominance. Dr. Andrea Zittaleu specifies how feminism is perceived as an idea that is no longer relevant to the 21st century. She elaborates on how her students have told her that in this era everyone is actually equal, and that there is a lack in understanding what equality means. It is this lack of understanding and awareness of what feminism is that gives birth to various misconceptions. 

The second and final topic covered in the interview is the relationship between men and feminism. Mr. Shko argues that the equality feminism fights for can be expressed in various ways. For instance, a man splitting the lunch or dinner bill between him and his date, is one of the ways of expressing equality. Drawing from the Iraqi culture, men are pressured to pay for their wives’, fiances’, or girlfriends’ expenses. Society would consider these men inadequate were they to do otherwise. The behaviors and beliefs of both genders generally arise from the culture they find themselves in. In order to change this mindset, one needs to gradually amend the culture. He concludes by stating that change comes progressively, and with time. We as individuals have the power to shape culture, rather than letting culture shape us.

Summarized and Translated by: Lubna Ghazi

COVID-19 and its Impact on the Differently-Abled Community

On Saturday May 23rd, 2020, Dr. Lynn Rose, CGDS Deputy Director, participated in the webinar “COVID-19 and its Impacts on the differently-abled community.” The webinar was sponsored and produced by WDRPA, the World Disability and Rehabilitation Professionals Association, with which CGDS partnered for the event. CGDS has been funded since 2018 by an EU grant that focuses on international education, particularly, in the MENA region, about issues of gender inequity. We take an intersectional approach, including issues of people with disabilities and other minorities in our investigations. Thanks go also to Mr. Paywand Ata of Horizon Relief and to Mr. Mahdi Abdullah of the Handicapped Union of Kurdistan, for providing current information about people with disabilities in the KRG during the pandemic.

In the webinar, Dr. Lynn addressed the question of the role of rehabilitation professionals to assist people with disabilities during the pandemic. She said: “We hear the phrase ‘We’re all in this together,’ but are we?” Especially in the global south, there are many ways in which COVID-19 aggravates the disadvantages of people with disabilities. Rehab professionals therefore need to continue to educate themselves about both the universal and local impact of the pandemic on people with disabilities. The universal issues include the fact that many people with disabilities have underlying health conditions which puts them at risk, but also that many of them rely on rehab professionals for assistance and communication, thus making social distancing difficult. Other universal impacts are the increase of domestic violence, issues of homeschooling, difficulties in getting food, the lack of technological access, and neurotypical online cultures. The NGO Horizon Relief and the Handicapped Union of Kurdistan have reported on some of the problems specific to people with disabilities in Iraqi Kurdistan. The difficulty of getting food and medical supplies under the curfew was compounded here because of an inaccessible infrastructure. People with psychosocial disabilities faced a particular hard time with the strict isolation. Violence increased against disabled women and girls. There was a total lockdown in Iraqi Kurdistan for an extensive period of time. And while it really helped with preventing the spread of the disease—we have relatively few cases of COVID-19 here now—it was put into effect suddenly, and with little to no respite care for caregivers. The economic fallout here was pronounced, and still is.

Many people with disabilities receive small government salaries, but this is an oil economy, and no government salaries have been paid since January. If rehab professionals are able to educate themselves and the community, they can raise our awareness about disability. Not only during the pandemic, but permanently. Dr. Lynn concluded by saying: “Maybe we can make  the phrase ‘we’re all in it together’ real, and maybe we can all be in it together after the pandemic ends.” Also participating in the webinar were WDRPA country representatives from the US, Australia, India, Poland, and the Netherlands. Topics ranged from accommodation and accessibility during the pandemic, to the roles and responsibilities of rehabilitation professionals. There were 483 audience members.

Dr. Akeel Abbas Interviews Hana Edwar

In this episode, Akeel Abbas, Co- Manager of CGDS, interviews Hana Edwar. Hana Edwar is a prominent Iraqi women’s rights advocate, and one of Iraq's pioneers in feminism. During her senior year at the College of Law in Basra she formed various connections with some female activists and organizations. It is here that she got her interest, and involved herself in the pursuit of women’s equality.

Edwar emphasizes that equality for women will help the development of the community and society at large. Therefore, the topic is essential and requires not only attention from women’s activists, but from anyone involved in the community. 

She explains how her childhood influenced her current path. She grew up in a moderately religious family, and since her early childhood, witnessed her father do some housework and help her mother. Additionally, she and both her sisters and brothers had to do chores and help. There was no discrimination based on sex, except in a few rare occasions. In her home in Basra, boys and girls used to play together without any distinction.

With the rise of the 1958 revolution, progressive thinking and women rights, many doors were opened for people to express their ideas and opinions. Social improvement and women's involvement in society became more apparent.

Women associations and organizations constituted an important role in drafting the constitution to include the 25% percent female quota representation in the parliament. They also had a significant role in rejecting Article 41 of the Iraqi constitution, which contradicts Article 14 stating that all Iraqis are equal to the law regardless of their sex, ethnicity, belief, or religion. However, the parliament decided to keep the Article.

Overall, Edwar feels that there is an improvement in society with regards to feminism and women's rights. Unfortunately, certain obstacles are still evident and present barriers. For instance, the current government and parliament, in contrast to the former, have yet to pass the law for protection against domestic abuse.?